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When LeBron James Proved Michael Jordan's 'Assured' Strategy to Guard Him Wrong

Credits: USA TODAY Sports

When the ascendancy of LeBron James became a headache for the rival NBA franchises, Michael Jordan came to their rescue. Upon dissecting the then-Miami Heat star’s gameplay, MJ formulated a theory on how to contain him. However, James quickly proved his idol’s  hypothesis wrong.

The 2013 Eastern Conference Finals highlighted the theory’s shortcomings. While the Indiana Pacers followed MJ’s advice word for word, James utilized their plan against them to succeed in Game 1.

During the closing moments of the clash, the opposition lined up to collectively prevent the 4x champion from driving to his right, as per Jordan’s theory, which heavily relied on forcing James to his left by any means possible. MJ had extensively spoken about this during his February 2013 interview with ESPN The Magazine, stating,

“So if I have to guard him, I’m gonna push him left so 9 times out of 10, he’s gonna shoot a jump shot. If he goes right, he’s going to the hole and I can’t stop him. So I ain’t letting him go right”.

By doing so, the Pacers ended up creating a massive open space on James’ left, despite being tightly marked by Paul Geroge. He capitalized on this opportunity to drive to the rim to score a game-winning left-handed layup.

In fact James had started showing the world the limitation of  MJ’s theory soon after this statement had started making the rounds. A few days after MJ’s interview had aired, the Heat star scored an outcome-defining left-handed layup against the Orlando Magic. He repeated this once more against the Pacers, prompting him to declare, “That theory is wrong, I guess”.

This entire sequence of events recently resurfaced on X (formerly Twitter). It consequently garnered the attention of the NBA fans, making them remember the obstacles James had to overcome to cement his legacy.

To this day, the true intentions of Jordan’s statement remain unknown. Several fans had felt MJ had genuinely meant to help out the Heat’s rival franchises. However, the timing of his comments, alongside the simplicity of the strategy, led many to believe that he just wanted to test James’ limits.

If the latter was the case, the 20x All-Star undoubtedly passed with flying colors. It probably also made MJ respect James’ competitive spirit more than earlier, planting the seed of mutual admiration.

LeBron James continues to impress Michael Jordan

Since coming into the NBA, James had to prove himself at every step. Yet, the Akron-born superstar overcame all challenges to set new benchmarks in the league. This eventually aided in him receiving a nod of approval from his childhood hero, MJ.

The basketball community saw a glimpse of this when James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the league’s all-time leading scorer. Jordan made the Los Angeles Lakers star’s achievement unforgettable by personally congratulating him.

As per TMZ Sports’ Michael J. Babcock, MJ sent James a message, stating, “Congratulations to LeBron on this incredible achievement. It’s a testament to his hard work, longevity, and his great skill”.

This highlighted the closeness between the two all-time greats of the game. They have certainly never let the constant noise from the outside decide the direction of their bond, adding to its unique and distinctive nature.