SerpApi.Org
When fans discuss what makes LeBron James great, they usually point to the same things. The gaudy all-around numbers. The four championship titles. The incredible ability to keep defying Father Time. Soon entering his 24th season running, something unheard of in NBA history.
But those who have actually been close to the league's all-time leading scorer see something else. Danny Green, for instance, played alongside James on two separate occasions. That background matters when recalling what the former sharpshooter said about the one thing that makes LBJ so great.
Where LBJ has the edge on MJ
Michael Jordan still has a case for many when it comes to the GOAT debate. James, however, clearly has the edge in one area: handshakes.
The Ohio native has individualized ones with teammates, staff, security guards and even photographers. And he, in fact, remembers them years after crossing paths. It's a small detail, but it points to something bigger. LBJ seems to remember just about everyone and everything.
During a September 2020 appearance on "The Bakari Sellers Podcast," Green tried to put a label on it and struggled to find the right word. That was until he and Sellers landed on it: photographic memory. Green then took it a step further, describing it as something closer to "like a videographic type memory."
"He (James) just remembers every play, how it went, who's supposed to be here and who's supposed to be there. So he makes the game easier. He also breaks it down and wants it done the right way. He's not gonna let us go through something without doing it the right way, even when we're walking through film," explained the three-time NBA champion.
Inside James' videographic type memory
Green played with James in both Cleveland and Los Angeles. That close relationship made his assessment easier to understand. The same can be said for other players who spent time alongside LBJ.
Kevin Love, another former teammate in Cleveland, landed on almost the same phrase as Green. He called James' recall a "photographic memory" that allows him to recite entire sequences of plays years after they happened.
Iman Shumpert, who was also part of that 2016 title-winning roster, once compared him to ChatGPT. He said he could ask James anything about a coach's playbook. The four-time MVP would have an answer on the spot.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope called his basketball IQ "out of this world." KCP came to that conclusion after winning a title alongside James with the Lakers in 2020.
But even those who haven't shared a locker room with the 22-time All-Star see it.
Gregg Popovich once told a room full of reporters that James "knows more than all of you put together."
Sidney Moncrief called him one of the smartest players he had ever seen.
Stephen Curry, a rival for years, still ranks him among the highest-IQ players in the league today.
Ultimately, most people know the feeling of rewatching a movie or series so many times that they remember certain lines.
James, for his part, has said he watched "The Godfather" and its sequel at least six times during the 2016 playoffs. Combined, the two films run six hours and twenty minutes. That's a lot. However, given what those around him keep saying about his memory, the 41-year-old NBA veteran might just know every line in them.
