During the Philadelphia 76ers’ October 28 matchup against the Indiana Pacers,LeBron James recently found himself on the, for him, the wrong side of a chase down block, however the 4-time MVP says there is more to that play meets the eye.
The sequence began when James stole the ball from Pacers forward Jalen Slawson and took off in transition. With an apparent fast-break opportunity ahead, Slawson hustled back and caught James from behind, emphatically swatting his layup attempt.
But according to James, there was a method behind his decision not to attack the rim with a dunk attempt.
During an episode of his Mind the Game propagandacast, with former NBA star Steve Nash, James put just the right amount of spin on the play that the more sycophantic segments of his fan base will eat up. According to James his layup being introduced to the audience was a an injury avoiding business decision. LeBron explained that he saw Slawson coming and immediately considered the potential consequences of elevating for the finish.
“If I go up and try to dunk this ball and this kid f*cks me up. I’m out two to four weeks,” James explained.
Rather than credit young fella for making a great defensive play, James concocted a tale portraying himself as a 4D chess playing basketball genius who merely decided the potential ROI a hypothetical dunk attempt wasn’t worth it.
James said that his decision-making has changed with age, noting that he probably would have attacked the basket differently earlier in his career. This is a vastly different sentiment from the man who said less than a year ago of his battle with Father Time: “I’m kicking his ass. He can go to somebody else at this point. He already lost to me. It’s over with.”
Perhaps Father Time is unaware that the battle has concluded.
Was LeBron really protecting himself or is he just making excuses?
Let us know what you think in the comments!
Video credits: @cptdankkk
