Newly-signed Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel spent the majority of his professional coaching career in the East with six seasons for the Indiana Pacers followed by two with the Orlando Magic. This gave him a bird's eye view (from an opposing team's perspective) of superstar LeBron James, who was a constant thorn for ambitious playoff teams – particularly from 2010 after he moved to the Miami Heat and started what would become a streak of NBA Finals appearances.
Vogel also got to see the evolution of James who was constantly criticized for his postseason stumbles, notably in 2007 and 2011, and explains what makes him different now as a Laker than his previous stints via a video posted on the team's Twitter account.
“In terms of what’s different about LeBron James now versus then is players like that grow throughout their career. They develop a wisdom on the basketball court where everything is a little slower for them mentally than it is for everyone else who’s speeding up and frenetic, and you can see that with his game. At this point in his career, he just recognizes things before they even happen and is a step above everyone else. His shot-making has really grown. It’s probably much stronger now than it was in Miami in terms of shooting with range and he’s going to poised from a great bounce-back year.”
Unfortunately, James' first year with the Lakers ended in disappointment both personally and as a team – the failed playoff push marked the first time the postseason will not include the 34-year-old since 2005 and the sixth straight for the purple and gold.
The Lakers hope that with a new coach at the helm, James getting acclimated to his team, and some marquee free agent additions, that the 2019-20 could be their year.
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