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On Tuesday, a statistic went viral on X, formerly Twitter, indicating that LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James is arguably the NBA’s top one-on-one defender. The stat left NBA fans in disbelief, as most refuted the notion entirely.
Per StatMamba, players are shooting just 40.7% when defended by James this season. According to the outlet, that is the league’s lowest mark among players who have defended at least 250 field goal attempts.
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However, fans weren’t buying it, as they roasted the 39-year-old’s defense based on their eye tests.
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“LeBron is a cone on defense. This isn’t real,” one fan said.
“Eye test says he doesn’t play defense,” another said.
Meanwhile, others pointed out that James doesn’t always take the toughest defensive assignments.
“Because they often hide him on the opposing team's worst offensive player. It allows him to play free safety and conserve energy,” one fan said.
“Yeah, well, when you guard a defensive role player that can’t shoot, that’s what’s gonna happen,” another said.
Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to James’ league-best defensive field goal percentage:
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LeBron James flourishes in return from injury
Despite LeBron James thriving in Year 21, the Lakers have struggled over the first half of the season. After 41 games, they sit just 10th in the Western Conference (20-21). However, James and the Lakers secured a 112-105 statement win over the second-seeded OKC Thunder (27-12) on Monday.
After missing the Lakers’ previous game due to an ankle injury, James flourished in his return. The four-time MVP recorded 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists on 60.0% shooting. Meanwhile, his co-star Anthony Davis tallied a game-high 27 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals on 52.9% shooting.
Following the game, James attributed LA’s success to its passing, as his team tallied 30 assists to the Thunder’s 23.
“When we have high-assist games where guys are feeling in a rhythm, it's a pretty good game for us,” James said. “We've got to try to look at this and be more consistent with that.”
Davis, on the other hand, spoke about how the Lakers need to rely on their defensive identity to be successful.
“I think it starts with us defensively to make that push,” Davis said. “We're a good team when we're defensive-minded, and when we show what we can do defensively on the floor, we tend to win those games.”
Despite the impressive win, the Lakers still rank just 22nd in offensive rating (112.2) and 14th in defensive rating (113.7). So, they will likely need to improve on both ends of the court if they hope to make a playoff push.
