“They See Stuff on a Different Level.”: Lakers Teammate Lauds LeBron James and His Basketball IQ

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is showing how, despite being 35, he can play at an MVP level. He started out as an athletic beast and developed into one of the best players of all-time. With age, he may have reduced athletic abilities, but his basketball IQ has increased.

His Lakers teammate, Alex Caruso, recently talked about this quality of LeBron on the Dan Patrick Show. He said, “Being around him and Rajon Rondo, some of the conversations they have about how you want to position somebody or put somebody in a certain place on a play; they see stuff on a different level. It’s been awesome for me to just be their teammate and see that process and see how they mentally work through stuff.

“Just because I’m such a basketball junkie, that kind of stuff gets me excited. You can’t even speak to how he’s playing at his age. But then match that with how smart he is, I think that’s how he’s able to keep going.”

LeBron James: Always the hardest worker

As players get older, they start regressing. They become a liability to their teams and are released soon. But in the case of great players, age is just a number. LeBron is one of the best examples of this. And despite getting older, he hasn’t stopped being the hardest worker on the team.

When asked about what story about LeBron he would tell his kids, Caruso said, “Probably his work ethic. That’s going to be my pillar as a father. Work hard and you can achieve what you want. I feel like that’s how I got to the NBA and how I’m planning on staying here: working through it. That dude works more than anybody I know. You see him first in the gym, last to leave. That’s who he is.”

After a seven-year absence, the Lakers have finally made the playoffs. And they have done it in style, as they secured the first seed couple of night ago with a win against the Jazz. At the fore of this turnaround is LeBron. He has worked hard to get the Lakers here, and will not rest till Lakers go all the way to win the title.

Tonight, LeBron faces his close friend, Chris Paul, as the Lakers take on the OKC Thunder at 3:30 PM PT. As Coach Frank Vogel has the freedom to rest his stars till the playoffs, we may see the rotational players get more minutes in these last few seeding games for the Lakers.

Sources:

Alex Caruso on the Dan Patrick Show (Full Interview) 08/04/20