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LeBron James is starting to look like himself again, and he believes the foundation he has built as a complete basketball player is what has allowed him to remain effective despite a difficult start to the season.
After missing all of training camp, the preseason, and the opening stretch of the regular season, James acknowledged he was playing catch-up when he first returned.
That gap has begun to close. In Sunday night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers star scored 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, added seven rebounds and ten assists, and consistently pressured the rim, getting to the free throw line ten times.
James said the biggest adjustment this season has been learning to appreciate the moment rather than focusing on what comes next.
“Just appreciating every moment, obviously, and just, you know, excited about what the next moment has, if it’s during the game or if it’s tomorrow or whatever the case might be,” James said. “So just for me, like I said, it was the first time I’ve ever not been ready for the start of the season. I missed the whole preseason, the whole training camp, missed the first 14, whatever, 15, whatever games it was. So, behind the eight ball and I couldn’t really train like I’m accustomed to training in the summertime.
“I don’t know, just being a complete basketball player. I have to be able to change the landscape of how I play up according to how our team wants to play. So, you know, I’ve been playing off the ball obviously pretty much the majority of the season. So, picking spots and figuring out ways how I can still be productive to help us play winning basketball when I’m on the floor both offensively and defensively. So, I don’t know. I don’t have any holes in my game. So, it helps to be able to be able to do whatever the team needs at that particular moment.”
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