During the latest episode of his podcast, LeBron James recalled his thoughts and mentality during his first trip to the NBA Finals when asked about Anthony Edwards. To those who might not be aware, Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves came quite close to making it to the NBA Finals this season.
Given that Edwards is only 22 years old and has been in the league for 4 seasons, one can certainly understand why he was unable to keep up his initial scoring pace and impact in the Western Conference Finals. During his podcast alongside former NBA star JJ Redick, LeBron James discussed how he felt personally when making his first deep postseason push.
LeBron James speaks on his hunger to learn and absorb information at 22 years of age
Although most athletes enter the NBA when they are quite young, it is extremely rare for a star to develop enough to go deep into the postseason and make it to the NBA Finals. After all, they simply will not have the experience or exposure of competing in the playoffs much.
On the “Mind the Game” podcast, LeBron spoke about his own playstyle and mentality when he carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals. Since he was also 22 at the time, it is fair to say that Edwards went through a similar process during this postseason.
“I was so like…I didn’t even know what was going on. I’m 22 years old. I’m trying to take in as much information as I possibly can. But more importantly, I just wanted to go out there and not overcomplicate myself with information and just go out and just play free. As a 22-year-old, I felt like that’s what you should be doing.”LeBron certainly makes a valid point. It is very important for young stars to learn as much as possible without getting too overloaded with information during their first deep playoff run. Although LeBron and Ant were the same age during their first deep postseason push, one must wonder how their stats compare.
Comparing 22-year-old LeBron James and Anthony Edwards’ playoffs stats
During his first Finals run with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007, LeBron James averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.0 assists. While the team managed to defeat the Detroit Pistons to make it out of the Eastern Conference, they ended up getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
In comparison, Anthony Edwards averaged 27.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists. The statistics reveal that Edwards was slightly better than LeBron in terms of scoring but not facilitating or rebounding. Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that LeBron did not play too well in the 2007 Finals, which undoubtedly lowered his overall stats from that postseason.
