LeBron James has four NBA championships, he is the All-time leading scorer in the NBA and is widely considered one of the greatest players in league history.
In his 20th NBA season, James has shown few signs of slowing down, averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 47 games.
LeBron James, #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers, handles the ball during the game against the Golden State Warriors on February 23, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Every player in the NBA looks up to James, but playing with him 19-time All-Star It’s not a walk in the park.
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every season, James hopes to compete for a championship, with the pressure on his teammates increasing when a loss occurs.
JR Smith, who played alongside James with the Cleveland Cavaliers for four seasons, talked about what it was like to play alongside the greatest of all time on «Game Theory With Bomani Jones.»
«Honestly, it’s a gift and a curse to play with Bron,» Smith said. «I love Bron to death and I loved playing on his team because, for me, I feel like I thrived more under pressure. But a lot of guys don’t like him because he can go either way.
«Or, what didn’t you do to help him win? And who else didn’t help not help him win?»
LeBron James, #23, and JR Smith, #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers, react as regulation time runs out against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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Smith won the 2016 NBA Championship with James in Cleveland, becoming the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
However, Smith is also remembered for his mental blunder in the 2018 Finals, when he ran out time in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors with the score tied 107-107.
Cleveland lost Game 1 in overtime, even with James putting in a Herculean effort, scoring 51 points as the Warriors swept the Cavs in the series.
The supporting cast around James is always scrutinized, and James is constantly looking to improve the roster.
LeBron James, #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers, reacts against the Dallas Mavericks for a rebound in the first half at the American Airlines Center on February 26, 2023 in Dallas. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
With the los angeles lakers in the 2022-23 season, James made it clear before the NBA trade deadline that updating the roster in a bid to make the playoffs was paramount.
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The Lakers did it, trading Russell Westbrook and adding Jarred Vanderbilt, DeAngelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba.
However, LA is still fighting for a playoff spot, as wait for James’s return from a right foot injury.
As is always the case on a team led by James, the spotlight will be on the Lakers — and their teammates — as they push toward the postseason.