NBA superstar LeBron James is a student of the game of basketball. And also a teacher. On hiatus this year from his customary playoff grind to the NBA Finals, James has his Twitter going. (Usually he shuts it down during the postseason for total focus between the lines.) But in his role as teacher, provocateur and Tweeter, James stepped on some tender toes with a tweet during Mother’s Day Playoff Game 7 NBA action.
Going against all modern notions of how to coach and play NBA basketball, James dissed “all that analytics talk” and said just “get me bucket!” What King James means is forget about whether the data bean counters in Moneyball mode dictate how much more valuable a three-pointer is than a mid-range two. James favors basketball the way it has traditionally been played, where you take the “best” shot available during a possession. (C.J. McCollum‘s big game for the Trail Blazers exemplified James’s point.)
It’s not like James is against the 3-ball — James takes plenty of big moment threes himself. He’s just saying that the modern obsession with data may not be the way to win NBA playoff basketball games. (James emphasized PLAYOFF games in all caps.)
It’s convenient for James’s argument that two of the most data-centric, analytics-oriented teams in the NBA — the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics — just packed up for the summer. Of course, all NBA teams rely on data analytics to improve efficiency. James knows and respects what analytics deliver. But he’s saying analytics can’t be the priority.
That’s exactly why I don’t wanna hear all that analytics talk! In PLAYOFF games when it usually come down to 1/2 possession games down the stretch, just get me bucket! The best shot during that possession. And if it’s a Pull-up 2 then so be it cause it was the best SHOT!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 12, 2019
