If there is one guy who's seen LeBron James at his most vulnerable on the court, it's Mark Cuban . His Dallas Mavericks handed The King one of the toughest losses in NBA Finals history as the heavy underdogs 4-2. But since then, the four-time MVP has gone on to win four championships, and Cuban has since noticed a massive shift in how the 6'9" forward approaches the game and how significantly he's evolved after that setback.
Mark on James in 2011
In the 2010-11 season, when LeBron joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a superteam in South Beach, anything less than a championship for the Miami Heat would be considered a disappointment.
The four-time MVP oozed into a new team dynamic, averaging 26.7 points per game in the regular season and 23.7 points per game in the playoffs. But when the Finals came around, the Dallas Mavericks threw everything at him, and surprisingly, The Chosen One struggled. He averaged only 17.8 points over the six games, including an abysmal 8-point performance in Game 4.
On The Remote podcast four years ago, Cuban emphasized how the Mavs had a set strategy in their mind to disrupt his rhythm. And given, the 20-time All-Star's one-dimensional mindset of dominating the scoring charts to leave his best impression, he kept sinking under more and more pressure after every subpar performance.
"It's night and day. He has the basketball IQ level now; he's just a basketball savant, " Cuban said . "He didn't have that (back in 2011). We would run a zone against him, and he would hesitate and not know what to do. He's not going to hesitate now. He knows exactly what's coming and what to do and anticipates it."
Related: Julius Erving believes no player is similar to him in the modern NBA: “I was a small forward, but I really played like a power forward”
Cuban acknowledged the strides LeBron has made
However, after that loss, LeBron realized he didn't have to be the top scorer to win championships. This was clear in his later victories. In the 2012 Finals, he didn't lead in points but led with 10.2 rebounds per game. In 2013, his defense stepped up with 2.3 steals per game. And, of course, in 2016, he made the most iconic chase-down block on the Warriors' Andre Iguodala and trusted Kyrie Irving to hit the game-winner for the title in Game 7.
Reflecting on this, the billionaire NBA owner praised how the four-time Finals MVP learned how to make a championship-winning impact through multiple ways.
"He can now beat you in so many different ways," Cuban added. "He's still athletic enough. His skill set has improved. His passing. But those all tie back to his basketball IQ, and that's something that wasn't as developed as it is now."
Looking back, it's safe to say that the loss in 2011 played a huge role in LeBron's growth, teaching him how versatility is important to be able to win titles and be counted among the very best.
Related: Ben Wallace lists out why LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan
Local News
Comments / 0