Los Angeles Lakers star delivers creative response to no skill claim

Lebron James is gearing up for his 22nd season as a member of the NBA and he's still producing at a ridiculously high level. Despite failing to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, James enjoyed a productive year that included a scoring average of 25.7 points per contest and a career-best 41 percent shooting from deep. James has accumulated 40,474 points in his career with a few years of dominant basketball left in the tank, but there are still NBA enthusiasts who wholeheartedly believe that he possesses little-to-no skill on the hardwood.

A few days ago, an Instagram account with the handle "lbjhistory" took the liberty of revisiting James' skillful offensive moments in the 2015 NBA playoffs, and the the three-time NBA champion elected to use that as an opportunity to fire back at his aggravating naysayers. While sharing the captivating highlight reel on his Instagram story, James wrote: "Pure brute strength and just running over people my whole career! No skill detected." While he didn't attack a specific individual in his post, it's evident that he's fed up with the common perception that he simply outmuscles defenders on a nightly basis.

Does the 6-foot-9, 250 pound small-forward utilize his powerful upper body to create advantages for himself? Absolutely, but it would be asinine to suggest that he is a one-dimensional scorer. James has mastered the art of establishing low-post position on the left or right block, feeling out his defenders before putting the ball on the floor and understanding when it's appropriate to execute a fadeaway jumper with a swift release. On the perimeter, James isn't going to overwhelm defenders with Kyrie Irving-esque dribble combinations, but he will gladly explode to either side of the floor, bait you into leaning all of your body weight in one direction and spin violently away from them en route to the basket. It also helps that James can pull the ball back towards his chest and punish defenders who disrespect his  three-point shooting ability.

James' game may not be aesthetically pleasing to many individuals, but there's no question that he does more than showcase his strength on the offensive end of the floor. He has found a plethora of ways to get the job done throughout his career and he will continue to do so until he's prepared to embark on a new journey.

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