LeBron James: I'm Playing At My All-Time High

[RealGM Wiretap]

LeBron James believes he might be playing the best basketball of his career in his 15th NBA season.

James' combined points, rebounds and assists have gone up every season since returning to the Cavaliers in 2014.

"Probably an all-time high," James said. "Just because of my body, my mind, the way I go out and approach the game. And then, just the grace of God, giving me the ability to do this. I'm blessed, and I never take it for granted."

James is fourth in the league in points per game, second in the league in assists per game, 17th in rebounds and 21st in steals. 

Via Cassidy Hubbarth, Dave McMenamin/ESPN

[GaaBaaBoo]

Believed. You will nail another conference finals trophy.

[hoopsfan2424]

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

[oaktownwarriors87]

I'll take 2008-2013 LeBron over this years LeBron

He's still near peak, though. He'll be scoring 20+ with good efficiency until he's 40.

[JAYZGOAT]

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

Dude. He has nothing else to prove really when it comes to team success. How many NBA finals has this guy been to in a row?

[dice]

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

if someone says they think they're playing their best they're a douchebag? seriously?

that said, he's clearly NOT playing his best. his defense has severely declined

[alienpick]

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

if someone says they think they're playing their best they're a douchebag? seriously?

that said, he's clearly NOT playing his best. his defense has severely declined

It's a contract year, he's playing for a contract. Of course he's going to say he's playing his best, and not care about the team he's ditching's record.

That said, if he doesn't make the Finals, and ends his finals streak, it's going to look like a disappointment. No matter how much he tries to spin the 'no help' narrative to teams.

[random_hero891]

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

if someone says they think they're playing their best they're a douchebag? seriously?

that said, he's clearly NOT playing his best. his defense has severely declined

It's a contract year, he's playing for a contract. Of course he's going to say he's playing his best, and not care about the team he's ditching's record.

That said, if he doesn't make the Finals, and ends his finals streak, it's going to look like a disappointment. No matter how much he tries to spin the 'no help' narrative to teams.

lol yeah Lebrons playing for a contract, good one.

[hyberx]

Ah so you are playing at your all time high, yet Cavs is doing bad comparing to last few seasons even after the trade. It must be Owner/GM/Coach/Teammates' fault then. Got it.

[MaxRider]

Ah so you are playing at your all time high, yet Cavs is doing bad comparing to last few seasons even after the trade. It must be Owner/GM/Coach/Teammates' fault then. Got it.

what do you expect him to say?
no, i'm declining, i'm going to retired after this season?
some reporter just ask some stupid question

[Basketball_Jones]

Still not better then Derozan lol. Cavs gonna get swept and humiliated by the Raptors.

[Hoopzilla]

Ah so you are playing at your all time high, yet Cavs is doing bad comparing to last few seasons even after the trade. It must be Owner/GM/Coach/Teammates' fault then. Got it.

The most obvious point Lebron's play is making right now is that Lebron doesn't have perennial all stars around him to do the heavy lifting, so we are only now seeing him give 100% effort. This is just proof Lebron has been selling his fans short for years. I always thought Lebron was coasting since he went to Miami.

Jae Crowder called Lebron out for padding his stats before he got traded. One of the reasons Kyrie wanted to leave because Lebron was not upset to lose in the Finals last year, because he averaged a triple double, so Lebron was happy with that. It has been plain as day and his own teammates have been calling him out on it. He would rather have stats than win games because his legacy will not look good based on winning, so he is hoping he can pad his stats and historians won't remember all the losing.

[ciueli]

Well, no, advanced stats disagree:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html#advanced::none

[cheese318]

You wouldn’t state the influx of players transitioning from the group would have any input in record for the team?

LeBron had the worst plus/minus in the nba which coincided with the games IT was playing with the Cavs. That doesn’t mean anything in the regards to winning stats? I agree he has won with much less talent in his early years on the Cavs but they were a team for over 4-5 years together. This team was put together over night. Gotta give him some credit for keeping it together when many other teams would/could fold.

Why didn’t the pistons take off when they got such a talented player in Blake? I would love to know how you feel about Blake if LeBron is such a dbag. Please tell me who your favorite team is and who you cheer for because I think that taints your opinion of LBJ

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

[cheese318]

I agree defense seems lazy at times

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

if someone says they think they're playing their best they're a douchebag? seriously?

that said, he's clearly NOT playing his best. his defense has severely declined

[Dolphin Lips]

You already chased all 3 rings - go to the blazers and earn one.

[alienpick]

if someone says they think they're playing their best they're a douchebag? seriously?

that said, he's clearly NOT playing his best. his defense has severely declined

It's a contract year, he's playing for a contract. Of course he's going to say he's playing his best, and not care about the team he's ditching's record.

That said, if he doesn't make the Finals, and ends his finals streak, it's going to look like a disappointment. No matter how much he tries to spin the 'no help' narrative to teams.

lol yeah Lebrons playing for a contract, good one.

Not that he isn't going to get one; he just wants everyone to see he's still got it and all go after him this off season. Playing for as many options as possible
He did just basically say; "I may be old but look at how great I am, I'm still in my prime!" Spinning the narrative for any team worried about signing him long term at the tail end of his prime.

[alienpick]

It's a contract year, he's playing for a contract. Of course he's going to say he's playing his best, and not care about the team he's ditching's record.

That said, if he doesn't make the Finals, and ends his finals streak, it's going to look like a disappointment. No matter how much he tries to spin the 'no help' narrative to teams.

lol yeah Lebrons playing for a contract, good one.

Not that he isn't going to get one; he just wants everyone to see he's still got it and all go after him this off season. Playing for as many options as possible.

He did just basically say; "I may be old but look at how great I am, I'm still in my prime!" Spinning the narrative for any team worried about signing him long term at the tail end of his prime.

[hoopsfan2424]

You wouldn’t state the influx of players transitioning from the group would have any input in record for the team?

LeBron had the worst plus/minus in the nba which coincided with the games IT was playing with the Cavs. That doesn’t mean anything in the regards to winning stats? I agree he has won with much less talent in his early years on the Cavs but they were a team for over 4-5 years together. This team was put together over night. Gotta give him some credit for keeping it together when many other teams would/could fold.

Why didn’t the pistons take off when they got such a talented player in Blake? I would love to know how you feel about Blake if LeBron is such a dbag. Please tell me who your favorite team is and who you cheer for because I think that taints your opinion of LBJ

Biggest d-bag in NBA history. The only stat that matters is .594, his team's winning percentage, and one of the lowest of his career. Only a very lame individual would praise himself in the midst of one of the losingest seasons of his career.

about blake, i haven't seen him play a full game yet in detroit. just highlights. so i can't really comment. he's obviously never been as good a player as lebron. but that's beside my point. i'm a Mavs fan. i'm not biased against lebron, as you're implying. i just find it incredible that someone would say "i'm playing my best" when his team is playing its worst. lebron hasn't had a sub .600 winning percentage in years, that i can recall at least. and i think it's pathetic that he'd pump himself up, no matter what question the reporter asked. any real man in that instance would answer "i'm not doing enough." that's all that has to be said. let others evaluate you, you don't need to try to sway their opinion by talking yourself up. it's obviously due to insecurity. lebron knows he's not playing his best, so he feels the need to tell us that he is, in an attempt to convince us. and plenty of dumb-ass fans will be convinced. the poster hyberx hit the nail on the head with his comment: "Ah so you are playing at your all time high, yet Cavs is doing bad comparing to last few seasons even after the trade. It must be Owner/GM/Coach/Teammates' fault then. Got it." that's the only logical takeaway. if he's playing his best, and his team's not performing as well as usual, then he must have a sh*tty supporting cast. that's what lebron is implying, and all his nuthugging fans can't read between the lines.

[hoopsfan2424]

It's a contract year, he's playing for a contract. Of course he's going to say he's playing his best, and not care about the team he's ditching's record.

That said, if he doesn't make the Finals, and ends his finals streak, it's going to look like a disappointment. No matter how much he tries to spin the 'no help' narrative to teams.

lol yeah Lebrons playing for a contract, good one.

Not that he isn't going to get one; he just wants everyone to see he's still got it and all go after him this off season. Playing for as many options as possible
He did just basically say; "I may be old but look at how great I am, I'm still in my prime!" Spinning the narrative for any team worried about signing him long term at the tail end of his prime.

i think alienpick is on to something here. i think that signing lebron to a four- or five-year deal at this point is very risky, unless you're the cavs and you're prepared to build around him. lebron is physically capable of being great for many more years, but the question is whether he'd be willing to play a less ball-dominant role. imagine if he adopted a shawn marion-type of role. he'd be perfect for that, till he's 40. but could he accept that, or would he want to run the offense till he retires? if he wants to run the offense, then you'd have major fit concerns in philly with simmons and LA with lonzo. those guys don't fit in a lebron-centric offense. paul and harden don't either but they'd be stacked enough to make it work, at least for a season or two till their D slips too much.