Certainly busy with the Lakers, LeBron James still finds time to follow the performances of other players in the league, including the youngest and most promising.

He has just spoken at length about the Chet Holmgren case.

At 39, he could quietly enjoy retirement and follow the NBA season from the comfort of his couch.

For now, LeBron James nevertheless prefers to stay on the floors and continue to splash them with his talent.

Already the author of 67 appearances this season with the Lakers, he nonetheless remains attentive to the performances of other teams and the evolution of the future superstars of the league.

LeBron James cashes on the phenomenon Chet Holmgren

Given his experience and knowledge of basketball, James serves as an outstanding analyst and does not hesitate to decipher the performances of his peers, even the youngest among them. 

After having given his thoughts on Victor Wembanyama , he recently used his podcast Mind The Game to express himself on Chet Holmgren during a conversation with JJ Redick:

JJ Redick: What makes OKC so good this season is their ability to drive and bring out the ball all the time.

They were already doing it last year when they finished 42-40, and then Chet came in and unlocked everything.

I’m not going to compare him to Chris Bosh, but he has the same role in terms of maximizing his team’s offensive potential. They needed Chet for that.

LeBron James: He got the most out of this team, yeah. For sure. Without a doubt. He changes everything when it comes to the dynamic of his team.

A validation that is already sufficiently flattering on its own from the King, but which the latter wanted to complete with a very specific example to illustrate the importance of the young big man in the Oklahoma City game:

LeBron James: They have a system that they use after all the opposing team’s free throws.

They send two guys into the corner on the other side of the field. Chet takes the throw-in and gives it to Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander).

And in this case, normally, the opposing pivot’s job is to cut off Shai’s access to the basket by moving towards the free throw line.

Now, while Shai brings the ball up, there is an OKC back who sets a screen away from the ball on the opposing pivot to free Chet on the other side.

Do you realize how hard it is to defend on this? They use a “flare” to free a 2m15 guy!

A rare and innovative strategy which therefore has the merit of impressing LeBron, even if the latter claims to know the trick:

LeBron James: There are ways to defend effectively on this. But I’m not going to reveal them now because we could come across them in the playoffs! (Laughs)

Obviously admiring the Thunder’s excellent season, LeBron James attributes a good part of the credit to Chet Holmgren.

According to him, the young interior has really allowed his franchise to take a step forward and represent a threat to his Lakers.