LeBron James revealed that he was forced to adapt his game to play alongside another prominent NBA superstar to win his first NBA championship. Heading into Year 23, James is now acknowledged by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, players in NBA history.
Throughout his illustrious career, he has made the NBA Finals 10 times and brought four championships to three franchises. With his incredible longevity and continued excellence, James is undoubtedly the face of the league.
James dealt with an unreal amount of expectations and pressure throughout his entire career. He recently revealed the adaptations that he had to make to his playstyle after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat.
Who Did LeBron James Adjust His Play Style For?
Out of all the stars James has played alongside throughout his long career, an argument could be made that he found the most success when paired with Dwyane Wade. After spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Cavaliers, James could not lead the team to a championship.
As a result, he left and joined the Miami Heat, forming a superteam in the process. During Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, “Mind the Game,” the four-time NBA champion spoke about the changes his style of play underwent before and after becoming teammates with Wade.
“My first seven years in Cleveland, I did the majority of the ball handling. … I was the playmaker, I was the decision maker. I made all the plays with the ball in my hand and got the ball to the guys to the right spots.
“But when I made the transition to Miami, … I knew I had to adapt my game because I was also going to a team where a guy who also handles the ball and makes the plays and things of that nature in D-Wade. So how could I still be effective with our offense with everything but not have the ball in my hand?”
James then revealed that he adapted by learning to trail the 13-time NBA All-Star in the open court and setting effective screens, as opposed to bringing the ball up the court himself as he was used to doing with the Cavaliers.
The duo certainly found a rare partnership. The Heat made the NBA Finals every season they were teammates and won back-to-back NBA championships. Moreover, several iconic moments, such as Wade’s no-look pass to James’ dunk, were created during their time together on the Heat.
While other stars such as Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and even Luka Dončić have their own respective cases as James’ best teammate, he learned and accomplished the most with Wade — so far.