2. Irreplaceable Leadership
LeBron is a fantastic leader and teammate, and it continues to show more and more as time goes by. King James, who passed Allen Iverson for 22nd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and just overtook Ray Allen’s 24,505 points for 21st place, viewed another monumental achievement as far more important.
During the second quarter of Cleveland’s 102-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons on February 24th, the 30-year old Akron native passed Scottie Pippen’s career assists mark (6,135) to solidify James as the NBA’s all-time leader in assists by a forward.
“It means way more than it did passing Allen Iverson in scoring,” he said on the assists record for forwards. “It took a lot of pride and I get more of a rush seeing my teammates succeed more than myself.”
This shows a lot about LeBron’s character and drive for not only his own personal success, but the greater good of players and coaches around him (for example, one of his newly-acquired teammates like Smith, who continues to noticeably thrive in LeBron’s presence).
Next: Cleveland’s Production With and Without LeBron