LeBron James dropped another episode of his 'Mind The Game' podcast with the Hall of Famer, Steve Nash.
The Philadelphia 76ers forward previewed every NBA team's upcoming season. Teams might be looking for bulletin board material, but instead they'll find plenty of praise for the contenders closest to him.
The Miami Heat analysis is one that is already creating questions among NBA fans about why he didn't join them instead of the Sixers. The King seems quite fond of the new-look Heat--a team he had every opportunity to join.
"It's gonna be damn good," LeBron said regarding the Heat. "I think defensively, they're going to be damn good."
James then went on to name-drop several key Heat players that give Miami its winning edge, including the obvious candidates like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, and Andrew Wiggins, but then he went on to offer some very high praise for one of his "favorite players," Bobby Portis.
"I love Bobby Portis. It’s a very exciting team. We’ll l just see how it comes together, which I think it will," James said.
So, why the Sixers?
James credited the basketball fit as the reason why he chose the 76ers. Heat fans might be looking at his recent analysis of their favorite team and wondering why LeBron chose Philly over Miami.
Defensively, they'll be strong, for sure, but the spacing was always the real problem for Miami. The offense will run through stars like Giannis (28.3% 3PT shooter) and Adebayo (31.6% 3PT shooter). While Andrew Wiggins is a strong deep threat, the Heat's top three-point volume shooters from last season (Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Kel'el Ware) are no longer in the building.
Kudos to Miami for picking up Tim Hardaway Jr., and eventually Klay Thompson, but the latter was still under contract with the Dallas Mavericks before LeBron made his decision. With spacing in mind, the Sixers simply have a team with more three-level threats, who are star-caliber in Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe.
With the Sixers, LeBron's passing could reach another level. He's only played in one of Philly's three preseason games so far, but the small sample size of LeBron dishing dimes was extremely impressive. Like most new-look lineups, the Sixers continue to have questions about their fit as they gear up for the new season, but the presence of LeBron will be a clear difference-maker for this super roster.
Whether he would've been a better fit for Miami is still quite debatable.
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