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Heading into the game between the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers, LeBron James is averaging just 28.8% of his shots from deep. This is the worst mark of his career, and he hasn’t shot below 30% since making 29.0% from deep in his rookie year.
Despite his struggles from behind the arc, he’s on his way to toppling Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring crown.
Skip Bayless, though, can’t let James’ inefficiency slide with this tweet:
“It's funny about all this LeBron hyperbole/idolatry as he approaches Kareem's record ... He has fallen to 153rd out of 154 qualified 3-point shooters in the NBA, now making only 28.6 %. Shockingly bad. But you never hear a thing about it.”
Before the game versus the Clippers, LeBron James was just 223 points behind Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 all-time mark, which has stood for almost 40 years. The four-time MVP likely would have claimed the record had he been a more efficient three-point shooter in his career.
Some fans have also ridiculed the four-time MVP’s often atrocious shooting from deep, particularly this season. But given the Lakers’ roster that’s bereft of what James calls “lasers,” then he might as well be confident attempting long-range bombs.
Tonight, that confidence and trust in himself paid off as "King James" had the most prolific three-point shooting night of his career. He hit 9-14 from behind the arc on his way to a 46-point outing, his first 40-point output against the Clippers in his career.
The Fox Sports analyst had another counter to James’ hot-shooting form:
“Funny how LeBron can heat up from 3 when the Lakers fall hopelessly behind and the pressure is off.”
The veteran sports talk show personality, however, hasn’t ceased praising the soon-to-be 19x All-Star for his ability to drive to the basket. Over the years, this has been one constant LeBron James skill that hasn’t been tarnished by Bayless:
“LeBron James is still the best bullyball player in basketball. Virtually unstoppable freight-training to the hoop.”
LeBron James has been incredible despite his poor form from behind the arc
Despite his usually so-so performance from three-point range, LeBron James has simply been sensational throughout the season. He’s also taking his already impressive play to a different level since turning 38 years old.
Over his last 11 games, he is averaging 36.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 7.8 assists. He is shooting 53.3% from the field. After his torrid shooting from deep tonight versus the Clippers, his efficiency has improved to 32.9% over that span.
Most fans are overlooking James’ inefficient outside shooting because of the impact he has on the LA Lakers. Anthony Davis has been unavailable for more than a month while Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker have been out for at least a week already.
Without James, the Lakers would have been lucky to just compete, let alone win games. Three-point shooting isn’t the only picture the GOAT candidate is painting. He is carving a career’s worth of a masterpiece that has most fans shaking their heads in disbelief.
