Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: LeBron James gets hilariously called out for denying to watch own highlights by JJ Redick

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Joseph Varghese | Last updated 4/4/24

Any athlete reviews their performances to get better. Improvisation is the most important aspect of any sport. Most elite athletes do that to get better and smarter as they age. LeBron James is also one of those athletes who has improvised his game throughout his 21 seasons in the NBA. However, when he cheekily denied that he does not watch his highlights, JJ Redick called him out.

The latest episode of Mind the Game resulted in a hilarious incident. LeBron James talked about how he looks up certain videos that come up on his social media timeline. When he said that his attention goes to the videos of his play, JJ Redick stopped him.

Hold on, bro, it's ok. We all watch our own highlights on YouTube. LeBron....! JJ Redick via Mind the Game podcast

To this, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar corrected that he has watched his highlights on YouTube. However, he watches them more whenever he has had a bad game. JJ Reddick confirmed that bad games lead to more self-reviews.

Film study is usually the best way to study opponents as well as make improvements. Most players end up watching their plays during film study. However, as James and Reddick confirmed, a bad game or a slump in form leads them to study their own game more.

That is when they go onto YouTube to find the game’s highlights and study the problems that led to those bad games. However, the all-time leading scorer clarified he did not intentionally go onto the video platform to check his highlights.

Film study remains an underrated aspect of LeBron James’ career

For any player to survive in the NBA, one has to study the game. As a player gets older, the physical attributes start to diminish. Becoming smarter in their game is important to play at a high level for longer. LeBron James has certainly done his best to play smarter once he reached 35 years. It has enabled him to use his high basketball IQ and perform dominantly at 39 years old.

His IQ helped him to play at a level that no one in their 21st season has done in the NBA. The 6′ 9″ superstar smartly decides how much energy he should devote to a particular play in split seconds. This means he does not go on a dunking rampage like he did in the 2000s and 2010s. After all, his goal is to stay healthy and remain fatigue-free.

Almost all of the superstars have resorted to film studies to improve themselves. In this era, thanks to YouTube, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar can get to a play in a split second and learn something more in that time. Time after time, James continues to amaze the basketball world with his commitment to the game.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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