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LA Lakers star forward LeBron James has garnered a reputation for being one of the highest-IQ NBA players of all time over his 20-year career.
James has often been able to anticipate opposing teams’ plays before they happen. He has also been known to take over as a player-coach in sideline huddles from time to time. However, according to James’ former teammate, Rajon Rondo, James took his IQ to another level during the Lakers’ 2020 NBA title run.
During a recent appearance on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, Rondo told a story from his time in the NBA bubble. His and James’ Lakers were set to take on either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
So, the two decided to watch the Heat’s and Celtics’ Eastern Conference finals Game 6 matchup to scout their next opponent. According to Rondo, rather than focusing on the opposing teams, James had his sights set on outsmarting his former Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra. Meanwhile, he had Rondo locked in on a potential matchup with his former Celtics coach, Brad Stevens:
“This goes back to the bubble when me and Bron were in the bubble,” Rondo said. “We’re watching the game. I think it was Miami and Boston again. And we were sitting in the room watching the game, and like I said, it went down to the wire. So, Bron’s like, ‘If we get Miami, I got Spo, and if we get Boston, you got Brad.’
“So that was kind of our mindset. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna beat the Heat, or we’re gonna beat the Celtics.’ It was more so, if we can outcoach or outplay the coaches on that staff in particular, which were two guys we felt that we knew pretty good, we were gonna win.”
(4:12 mark below)
The Lakers eventually ended up taking on Miami in the 2020 Finals and won the championship in six games. So, James’ scouting of his former coach appeared to pay off well.
Rajon Rondo on his basketball IQ
Outside of LeBron James, Rajon Rondo is viewed as another one of the highest-IQ basketball players in NBA history.
So, it shouldn't come as a surprise to most basketball fans that Rondo is also one of the few players who often tried to outsmart his former coaches. Earlier in his podcast appearance, Rondo told a story about another time that he tried to outsmart Brad Stevens when he was playing for Chicago.
According to Rondo, it was a common occurrence for him to try and act like a coach while he was on the floor throughout his 16-year career:
“Basketball intelligence for me means, one, being an extension of the coach on the floor,” Rondo said. "Because for me, when I’m playing the game, I’m not necessarily playing against the player.
"A great example is when I was going against the Celtics, when I played for the Bulls, my whole mindset that entire series was to beat Brad Stevens.”
However, Rondo added that this type of mindset is extremely rare among NBA players:
“I don’t think many players are thinking that way when they’re out there on the court,” Rondo said.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
