If you’ve ever heard Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James break down the X’s and O’s of basketball, you probably noticed how high his IQ is surrounding the game.
The retired point guard and Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd has been known to have high basketball intelligence as well, which was displayed during his on-the-court play and being the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks.
That’s why it may come at no surprise that according to ESPN, James feels that Kidd is the only person who matches his level of basketball IQ.
“The Lakers felt strongly that the staff should be a collection of former head coaches whose experience could earn instant credibility with a veteran roster,” wrote ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz.
“One of those primary assistants would be Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, whom two sources have independently said James regards as the only person alive who sees the game of basketball with his level of clarity.”
As it stands, the Frank Vogel-led Lakers are in first place in the Western Conference, with the Denver Nuggets in second place, four games behind.
James is averaging 25.4 points per game, 7.7 rebounds and 10.9 assists. Between James, the newly acquired Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee, Danny Green and a deep bench, some might say the team is a shoo-in for the NBA Finals.
So far James hasn’t confirmed what the ESPN writer wrote about him and Kidd, neither on his Instagram or Twitter pages.
Kidd retired from the NBA in June of 2013 after playing for the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns, the New Jersey Nets and the New York Knicks, which is the last NBA team he played for.
