(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers have had some of the greatest players in NBA history play for them.
And even though LeBron James didn’t get to play for them in his prime, he continues to make history for the team night in and night out.
That’s not much of a surprise for those who got to play against him when he was walking his first steps in the league, and that includes former NBA forward Caron Butler.
According to @realtuffjuice, LeBron had every coverage figured out 15 years ago.
How do you think the @warriors should play him after the @Lakers’ game 1 road win?#ATSNBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/n5Se7WWve2
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) May 3, 2023
In a recent appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s “All The Smoke” podcast, Butler revealed the moment he knew James was going to be a legend.
Butler explained that his team tried literally every single possible coverage in the playoffs, from going under or over screens to blitzing him or double-teaming him, and he managed to pick every single defense apart.
He claimed that he thought that as long as James managed to stay healthy and durable, he had a shot at breaking all kinds of records for that dominance and basketball IQ.
Well, fast-forward to today, and it’s pretty safe to say that Butler was right on point with that prophecy.
James was the most hyped prospect this game had ever seen, and he managed to live up to all the expectations and even exceed some of them.
One may consider him the greatest player ever or not, but he’s most definitely the greatest when it comes to breaking down rival defenses in real-time, and he might as well have the highest basketball IQ in the history of the league.
The post Former NBA Player Explains When He Knew LeBron Was Special appeared first on The Cold Wire.