The media has absolutely run dry of superlatives to describe . Now in his 21st season, James hasn't just maintained his dominance, he's seemingly still improving in several areas. He might have to limit his showcases of divine athleticism to short bursts now in his old age, but he's arguably still just as effective of a player as he was in his physical prime. As
NBA players age, they have to adapt their games to compensate for their diminished speed, dexterity, and stamina once they're in the twilight of their careers. There are several ways to do this. Some legends slimmed down as they got older, others bulked up. Many accept a reduced role in order to maximize their impact and efficiency. Nearly every player who successfully extended their career shared one common advancement in order to elongate their games, though: improved their outside shooting. By becoming a better 3-point shooter, an aging player can reduce the amount of punishment their bodies take while maintaining their offensive production. It also makes their muted athleticism less noticeable and detracting.
LeBron James clearly understood this and has turned one of the few weaknesses in his game into a significant strength. How LeBron James Has Drastically Improved His 3-Point
shooting On Wednesday, April 3, the downed the , 125-120, led by 's 35 points. James chipped in 25, having gone 0-1 from three-point range. This marked just the ninth game this season where he failed to make a triple. For comparison, he had 15 games without a 3-pointer in the 2017-18 regular season for the . In 2011-12, he didn't hit from beyond the arc in for the . In 10 of those outings, he didn't even attempt a single 3-pointer. This year, he doesn't have any games where he hasn't shot at least one three, showing just how far he and the game of
basketball have come in the last decade. LeBron James 3-Point Shooting Last Five Seasons 2.2 6.3 34.8% 2.3 6.3 36.5% 2.9 8.0 35.9% 2.2 6.9 32.1% 2.2 5.2 41.7% As a 99th-percentile athlete in the NBA, opposing defenses used to pray that LeBron James would settle for a jumper, especially one from 3-point land where he struggled. Now, triples aren't just a more integral part of his arsenal; he's turned his outside shooting into a legitimate strength. This year, he's shooting a career-high 41.6 percent from beyond the arc. When asked about how he was able to drastically improve his deep accuracy this late in his career, James had this to say: “I’ve been able to get a lot more work in on the floor this season because my foot has been a lot better than last year. I really couldn’t on off days or in-between games or whatever, get much work done because I had to stay off my foot because of the injury last year that took me all the way through postseason. So, relative to last year, I’m still dealing with it a little bit, so I’ve been able to actually [be] a lot more consistent in putting work in on my shooting.” Were it not for his injury, James may not have had the time necessary to improve his outside shot. His foot potentially gave him further reason to want to extend his range and reduce the physical toll on his body. Lakers are not great 3-point threats despite James's improvements This season, the Lakers are in the basement of the league in terms of 3-point production. While
Los Angeles ranks top-10 in 3-point field-goal percentage in the league, they don't take or make many of them. There are a few different reasons for that. Chiefly, the Lakers two best players prefer to do their damage in the paint. Both James and Anthony Davis are at their most dangerous when they're attacking the lane. As those two superstars naturally take the most shots on the team, it only makes sense that the Lakers would take less triples than teams led by outside bombers like and . Secondly, the Lakers don't employ many great shooters. While L.A. does rank in the top-10 in 3-point percentage, most of their triples come from stand-still, spot-up attempts. They don't have any great movement shooters in the supporting cast who can launch from a variety of angles and only need a sliver of space to get their shot off a la Buddy Hield. They only have a couple of role players capable of shooting from deep off of the dribble in D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie, but they'll be hoping that Gabe Vincent will provide some of that too. With his improvements, there's a legitimate case that LeBron James is the best shooter on the team. That might not be a great thing for the Lakers.