LeBron James has found himself in a different type of role this season. For the first time in his career, he has taken a backseat to another player, which is Luka Doncic.
According to sports media personality Colin Cowherd, this is something Michael Jordan would not have done.
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“So Luka had 51 last night, and the Lakers beat the Bulls, but that wasn’t the story. And this is a real story, and it’s actually asking a lot of LeBron James. So we talked a lot before the season. I said this is going to be the strangest year in LeBron James’ life. Every offense, even last year with heavy Luka and Luka off an injury, LeBron needed the ball in his hands for the offense to be effective.
“I said this year is going to be different. The difference between in-shape skinny Luka, still in his prime, and LeBron is going to be huge. And LeBron’s going to have to learn for the first time in his career to play off the ball all the time. Now he’s having a bad shooting year off the ball because, let’s be honest, his jump shot has always been streaky and inconsistent.
“But what really happened this year that makes it even tougher for LeBron is that Austin Reaves has popped. And now LeBron should probably have the ball as a third offensive option on the Lakers. So to ask a guy who was the face of the NBA for 20 years, hey, we not only need you to be off the ball with Luka, but Austin Reaves as well, it is a big ask.
“I don’t think Michael Jordan would have done that. I don’t think most all-time players are going to do that. And the fact that LeBron’s always been about winning, and he has, and I’ve defended him early when he used to not take the big shot like MJ or Kobe, and I’d say he’s a winning player. He makes the right basketball play.
“LeBron’s always been a winning player. I just think he deserves credit for committing to this kind of basketball when he could score 24 a night for half the teams in the league or more.”
Cowherd isn’t quite correct in his assumption. In Jordan’s last year as a member of the Washington Wizards, he made the trade that brought in Jerry Stackhouse.
The idea was that Stackhouse would be the main offensive threat, and Jordan, who was still making his way back from a knee injury the previous season, started the year coming off the bench. If it weren’t for Stackhouse getting injured, Jordan may have kept his supporting role.
Once the injury occurred, Jordan took over as the main offensive threat. When Stackhouse returned, Jordan continued being the alpha, so maybe Cowherd has a point.
Still, Jordan’s field goal attempts were down from 22.1 per game during his first year in Washington to 18.6 while playing alongside Stackhouse.
What do you think? Is LeBron doing something Jordan would never do?
