At the age of 39, when most players have retired, LeBron James is still considered one of the best stars in the NBA. Only in the 2023/24 season, LeBron James has an average of 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.2 assists with a shooting efficiency of 53.8%.
Of course, even though he is still maintaining excellent form, LeBron James will certainly still be affected by the burden of time. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been limiting his bold breakthrough situations like when he was young, because his endurance and physical condition no longer allow him to do it regularly.
So why can LeBron James still maintain impressive performance in the 2023/24 season? The answer lies in 3-point shots, as the 39-year-old star has continuously improved this ability throughout his playing career.
According to information from coach Dave Hopla, the person who takes on the role of basketball skills training expert for many NBA teams has closely followed LeBron James’ entire career since 2023. In particular, he admitted that LeBron James’ improvement in 3-point shooting ability has helped this player maintain peak performance in the NBA.
“Before that, LeBron James often leaned to the left when shooting 3-pointers, affecting his accuracy. However, he has improved this in recent years and that is the difference in his matches. LeBron James”, Dave Hopla shared with ESPN.
Looking back at the 2003/04 season when LeBron James first appeared in the NBA, this player only had a 29% 3-point shooting success rate. Even after improving this problem over the years, LeBron James has never been considered an effective player at making long-range shots.
However, this has changed in recent years. In the 2023/24 season alone, LeBron James’s 3-point shooting efficiency is up to 41.3%, much higher than the league average of 36.6%. Not long ago, LeBron James also had 9/10 3-point shots in the Brooklyn Nets basket, an almost unbelievable performance even in practice sessions.
The last time LeBron James had a 3-point shooting efficiency above 40% was in the 2012/13 season, when he converted 40.6% of his 3-point shots into points. However, LeBron James only averaged 3.3 3-pointers that season, far less than the 5.2 made per game in the 2023/24 season.
Improving 3-point shooting ability helps LeBron James still create a huge threat to the opposing defense in addition to the powerful breakthrough situations that have made his brand. Not to mention, this also helps LeBron James maintain better health during matches, which is extremely necessary when he is 39 years old.
LeBron James’ peak form will be the hope for the Los Angeles Lakers to pass the Play-In round and advance further in the 2023/24 NBA Playoff period.
