How LeBron James Became One Of The NBA’s Best Shooters

LeBron James was not born the best basketball player in the world. It’s taken over a decade of perfecting and honing his craft to become the player he is today: a four-time MVP and two-time NBA champion with the potential to only amass more hardware, more recognition, and more career-defining moments.

It’s what separates LeBron, a great player, from the good players of the NBA or any sport in general. The good player is aware they are good and stops there. The great player, however, is aware that they can be better and will not settle for simply being good.

There is a desire within the greatest players of their respective sports that has allowed them to become better. They are pessimists, constantly questioning what they lack, rather than focusing on the attributes they already possess. They are willing to make adjustments and sacrifices, willing to be outside their comfort zone in order to learn, and willing to learn from their mistakes.

A great player is eaten inside by their mistakes, so much so they don’t want to repeat the same mistake. They want to be prepared for any circumstance and want to own the moment when they encounter those circumstances again. Nobody was born with the attributes that currently characterize them. One can only work to achieve the goals.

LeBron James was not born as one of the NBA’s top jump shooters. He became one. When he entered the league in 2003 as a heavily-hyped 18-year-old, his jumper was raw and still needed great improvement.

He had to become more than a freak athlete and a name. The LeBron James of St. Vincent-St. Mary’s fame could not be the same person as LeBron James the professional basketball player. Even as an 18-year-old, LeBron recognized that the player he was, a No. 1 draft pick drawing MJ comparisons, would not be suitable to achieve his expectations of what he wanted to become.

Over the course of his 10-year career, LeBron has steadily improved not just his jump shooting but shot-selection, as well. Take a look at his jumper percentages over the course of his career — including postseason totals — per Basketball-reference.com:

2003-04: 32 percent on 996 jumpers; 67 percent of shots are jumpers
2004-05: 35 percent on 1131 jumpers; 67 percent of shots are jumpers
2005-06: 36 percent on 1351 jumpers; 63 percent of shots are jumpers
2006-07: 34 percent on 1332 jumpers; 66 percent of shots are jumpers
2007-08: 33 percent on 1205 jumpers; 63 percent of shots are jumpers
2008-09: 37 percent on 1229 jumpers; 64 percent of shots are jumpers
2009-10: .375 percent on 1115 jumpers; 64 percent of shots are jumpers
2010-11: 40 percent on 1247 jumpers; 67 percent of shots are jumpers
2011-12: .395 percent on 1076 jumpers; 64 percent of shots are jumpers
2012-13: 42 percent on 1080 jumpers; 60 percent of shots are jumpers

Obviously the 2012-13 season is the year catching your eye. Not only is LeBron shooting the highest percentage of his career on jumpers, but the percentage of his shots that were jumpers took a significant drop. The influence of having teammates such as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh by his side paid off, but it wasn’t immediate as 67 percent of LeBron’s shots in his first season with Miami were still jumpers.

The most startling stat is how LeBron took as many jumpers this past year as he did in the lockout-shortened season, which featured 16 less games than the usual 82-game regular season. Coincidentally, the past two years of jumpers playing less of a role in his offense occurred after James and Erik Spoelstra met up during the summer of 2011 and decided that a conscious effort was needed by LeBron to take each possession one at a time. There shouldn’t be any need for settling when he can get to the rim with ease and has teammates who can take the jump shot burden off his shoulders.

The Heat want to maximize the potential of their MVP. They didn’t want him reduced to an average shooter, rather someone who would look at a low-percentage shot and see it as a last-second option.

He’s bought into it, developing a more refined post game. However, just because he was going to take fewer jumpers, it didn’t mean he would not continue to improve on it. He knew a time would come where he’d need it.

Well, didn’t the San Antonio Spurs employ that strategy throughout their NBA Finals? By keeping their players close to the paint, they cut off LeBron’s drives and his primary mode of facilitation, and by giving him a cushion to shoot they constantly had him second-guessing himself.

For some unknown reason, LeBron didn’t use his elite-level jumper until the final games of the series. It wasn’t until Game 7 where he truly took advantage of the space the Spurs gave him, punishing the lax defense with 5-of-10 three-point shooting.

Since we’re on the topic of three-point shooting, take a look at his percentages over the years.

2003-04: 29 percent on 217 three-pointers
2004-05: 35 percent on 308 threes
2005-06: 33 percent on 379 threes
2006-07: 32 percent on 310 threes
2007-08: .315 percent on 359 threes
2008-09: 34 percent on 384 threes
2009-10: 33 percent on 387 threes
2010-11: 33 percent on 279 threes
2011-12: 36 percent on 149 threes
2012-13: 41 percent on 254 threes

Now wait just one minute! What on earth happened in the 2012-13 season? After an entire career of shooting no better than 36 percent from beyond the arc, LeBron suddenly becomes a legitimate three-point threat with a percentage on par with the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Klay Thompson? I have my theories.

Keep reading to hear what influence Ray Allen had on LeBron…

Perhaps Ray Allen had an influence on James’ shooting. It is coincidental that the best jump shooting season of LeBron’s career came the same year where he has Ray Allen on his side, and there’s no doubt that a great player like LeBron, who is always looking to improve, was picking the brain of the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history.

As he learned from Hakeem Olajuwon on how to effectively work in the post, it’s entirely possible LeBron’s mechanics became more polished with Ray Allen in his ear. Allen certainly had an effect on his free throw shooting. Although LeBron only converted 75 percent of his free throws, he went through several different forms throughout the season, attempting to find the correct stroke to improve a percentage that simply isn’t up to his standards.

Speaking of which, LeBron’s already aiming for the rare 50-40-90 mark. LeBron would have accomplished the feat last year — only completed by the greatest shooters in league history such as Larry Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, Nowitzki and Kevin Durant — had he been a better free throw shooter.

Also, once again, LeBron’s shot selection significantly improved since joining the Heat. After taking at least 300 threes in six of his seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the number of attempts he’s taken from beyond the arc has fallen significantly. The 254 he attempted this past season was the lowest since his rookie year, not including the lockout year.

The improved shot-selection is also reflected in the fact that he shot 56 percent from the field overall, a higher percentage than Al Horford, Omer Asik and Kenneth Faried.

As evidenced by the arc of his career, LeBron’s shooting percentages have improved dramatically from a rookie season where he was converting only 32 percent of his jumpers. Over time, the mechanics of his shot have changed. Comparing the form in his jumper from his rookie season to the jumpers he attempts now, there are noticeable differences.

For one, the shot release is a lot smoother and there’s hardly any hitch causing LeBron’s elbow to flare out. That flare-out was pointed out by Rick Barry, who was critical of James’ outside shooting abilities shortly before he began to improve significantly with Miami.

In an interview with Barry I did earlier this summer, he told me that his criticism may have actually led to LeBron working more feverishly on his jumper. He told me, “I’m glad to see him improving and working on his game. I made a big deal about his shooting form and he’s corrected that. Even though I don’t get any credit for it, but I did make a big stink about that.”

LeBron’s balance is also different from what it was. After years of struggling to remain upright and keeping the lean in his back to a minimum on his follow-through, there is a noticeable change in how he finishes on the landing after his shots.

He’s not forcing as many shots up from the perimeter and is taking shots in areas — the right corner, straightaway or the left wing — where he is comfortable taking a low-percentage look. That has to do, in part, with playing in an offensive system where the floor is spaced and jump shots are more likely to be open. But it still doesn’t explain exactly LeBron’s incredible improvement.

Maybe it’s a combination of everything. Maybe LeBron has been absorbing shooting advice from Ray Allen. Maybe the criticisms from Rick Barry motivated him to refine his jumper. Maybe he grew tired of being an average shooter and wanted to join the field of elites.

Or maybe he didn’t want a flaw in his offensive repertoire and has practiced endlessly over the past few summers attempting to get it to where it is today. Would it come as a surprise at all if LeBron spent the previous summer and training camp solely working on his jump shot?

What nobody can deny is LeBron’s incredible improvement. Any piece of the game he needed to ameliorate, LeBron worked at it until it became a strong suit of his. When he made a mistake, such as what occurred in the 2011 NBA Finals, LeBron wanted to return the next season with his former weaknesses becoming a new strength.

After the Dallas Mavericks exploited his low post game in the 2011 Finals, James sought help from Hakeem Olajuwon over the summer and returned the next season with a newfound post game. He was already two MVP’s deep into his career.

And when the moment arose for LeBron to use the post game? He owned the moment, taking advantage of the smaller defenders the Oklahoma City Thunder threw at him in the 2012 NBA Finals. His influence in the post led to easy scores around the rim for himself, while opening up the floor for the likes of Mike Miller and Shane Battier.

For LeBron, his humbling moment was the 2011 Finals. It was the moment where he came to the realization that he can be stopped and was at his most vulnerable, especially if he’s taken out of his comfort zone. That’s what always astounds me about LeBron. It’s not the athleticism, the multidimensional facets of his game or even how well-rounded he is. It’s wanting to improve despite already being far-and-away the best basketball player on the planet.

There’s the Michael Jordan comparison so many people beg for. As Jordan worked tirelessly on his jumper following the 1994-95 season, which concluded after a postseason loss to the Orlando Magic, LeBron has worked to become a player who cannot be stopped no matter what type of defense is thrown at him. Just as he’s done with his jump shot, LeBron isn’t settling.

Should LeBron be considered one of the best shooters in the league?

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