In 16 appearances in the playoffs so far, LeBron James has had time to disgust many teams and players. One of them also remembers the impact of the King on the sweep he suffered, less predictable than it seems.

Since the start of his career, the success of his franchises has always or almost always been based on his own performances. Even more so in the playoffs, where his omnipotence reaches an even greater degree. However, LeBron James has not always been THE main architect of his teams’ victories in the postseason. In the Run Your Race podcast, Stanley Johnson, for example, makes Kyrie Irving the No. 1 executioner for his Pistons in 2016:

Kyrie Irving was different. As good as LeBron was, this series was won by Kyrie in my opinion. Like on one action, he made a 3-point shot while being behind the board! We had won the match! LeBron made a crazy pass – but we’re used to that – and he received it on his tiptoes before sending the ball over the board! The whole fucking Palace went silent.

The underrated genius of LeBron James as told by Stanley Johnson

Heroic in the famous Game 3 to which Johnson refers here, Irving in fact survived in this confrontation. This is evidenced by his stats of 27.5 points per match and 47.1% at 3pts. For his part, LeBron was more behind, finishing with what represented at the time his lowest scoring average in a won series (22.8). However, according to Johnson, he still played a key role:

When LeBron out-coached the Detroit Pistons in the 2016 playoffs 😅

“I don’t believe Stan Van Gundy got out-coached in that series. LeBron out-coached the team on the court.”

– Stanley Johnson

Via: Run Your Race @iAmSJ @tpinsonn @_KingCozy pic.twitter.com/NGK7fkhhHj

— Tidal League (@TidalLeague) September 26, 2023

I don’t think Stan Van Gundy lost the coaching duel in this series. Rather, it was LeBron who implemented a better strategy than the opposing team on the floor!

Renowned for his exceptional basketball IQ, LBJ would therefore have helped the Cavaliers to win thanks to these assets, and not to his scoring talents. This, in particular by exhausting Detroit’s main weapon thanks to well-considered tactical choices:

He would always implement the same system but have them execute it in so many different ways. We were trying to hide Reggie (Jackson) in defense because otherwise, during the match, he was going to end up exhausted. And each time, LeBron made sure that Reggie was targeted by this system! To me, these are the kind of cool little things you can’t prepare for.

Relatively clumsy against the Pistons during the first round of the 2016 playoffs, LeBron James nevertheless found a way to help the Cavaliers win easily. His tactical genius would have made the difference and had a profound impact on Stanley Johnson.