傳奇人物已經對他的傳球表示讚賞，因為他9歲時在俄亥俄州阿克倫的籃球聯賽中為薩米特湖黃蜂隊效力。 他以自己的方式滾動岩石，養活了一個名叫Sonny Spoon的身材矮小的隊友。 這是小傢伙控制球而不會被摔倒的唯一方法。 Spoon抓住了機會，將球推入籃筐，James對Spoon得分的喜愛超過了他自己的得分。
幾十年後，由於他已躋身NBA歷史得分榜前五名，並在2016年NBA總決賽第7場比賽中以追逐阻攔取得了傑出職業生涯的決定性成績，他的傳球仍然對 一如既往的技巧。
現在是他的第17個賽季，詹姆斯已經從小前鋒轉變為控球后衛。而且隨著洛杉磯湖人隊的勝利積累，詹姆斯也獲得了助攻。
詹姆斯場均得到聯盟領先的11.1助攻，在洛杉磯的前11場比賽中有八場達到兩位數。
如果他保持領先，那將是詹姆斯職業生涯的首個助攻頭銜。他可以繼續嗎？
詹姆斯最近說：“我不知道。” “這從來都不是我的目標。...助力一直是我最喜歡的，因為它給我的隊友們一個得分的機會。而這一直對我很重要。”
如今，個人統計數據對詹姆斯來說並不重要-本月早些時候，他甚至戴著一頂繡有補丁的帽子，上面寫著“獎盃無意義”，這對達拉斯的一場比賽來說是一回事-但他有能力繼續在比賽中留下控制感當他進入30多歲時確實很重要。
如果詹姆斯繼續以這種速度投球，他將抹殺他第17賽季或之後的最佳平均助攻記錄（約翰·斯托克頓目前在2000-01賽季場均貢獻8.7次助攻）。
湖人隊教練說：“他每次都會做出正確的比賽，他會準時地將球傳到任何地方，或者在他扔球的任何地方都可以到達目標-到三分線或籃圈，後切球等等。”弗蘭克·沃格爾說。 “他只是我身邊最好的路人之一。”
詹姆斯在週三晚上打出一打零錢的第一場比賽，僅僅七秒鐘就以120-94擊敗了金州勇士隊，這是一個精確的球，從三分線外送給了賈維爾·麥基，後者很快將其存入了籃筐。
詹姆斯的湖人隊友認識到，與他共享球場時，最好時刻保持警惕。
凱爾·庫茲馬說：“在勒布朗的比賽中，他始終是人們關注的焦點。” “每個人都在看著他，所以有時候當人們來到這裡時，他們並不真正習慣於張開鏡頭，而這正是他所提供的。”
並非所有公開鏡頭都是平等的。就像防守者對詹姆斯的額外關注一樣，球迷們也是如此。當詹姆斯睜開眼睛時，感覺就像競技場上的每隻眼睛都轉向射手。
“我的新秀年壓力很大。”奎因·庫克（Quinn Cook）說，他在2015年季前賽期間與克利夫蘭一起效力之後，第二次與詹姆斯並肩作戰。 “我當時想，'哇，勒布朗把球傳給了我。我必須做到。'但是我現在已經過了那個階段。他使我們處於成功的有利位置，而您只是想自信地投籃。”
艾弗裡·布拉德利（Avery Bradley）給人的印象是，詹姆斯四次通過MVP不可思議的球場視野，才可能使詹姆斯獲得部分傳球。
布拉德利回憶說：“前幾天我和一個坐在板凳上的傢伙開玩笑。” “我說的是，當我看電影時，教練說，'你應該已經看過這個通行證……'他在比賽中實時地看到了。真是不可思議。”
拉貢·隆多（Rajon Rondo）在2015-16賽季獲得了助攻冠軍，薩克拉曼多國王隊平均每場有11.7名助手。他說，贏得這一殊榮並沒有真正的秘密。
“這需要什麼？夥計們開槍，”朗多說。
朗多對他和詹姆斯的傳球能力保持沉默：“可能是1A和1B，”他說。詹姆斯和湖人隊的大型休賽期收購安東尼·戴維斯正是這樣描述的。
對於湖人來說，本賽季充分利用戴維斯至關重要，這不僅是給自己最大的獲勝機會，而且還為這位大個子明年夏天重新簽約自由球員鋪平了道路。
讓詹姆斯成為控球后衛已經保證，戴維斯將成為湖人進攻的重點。根據ESPN統計與信息部的數據，在湖人的前11場比賽中，戴維斯獲得了詹姆斯的29次助攻，超過湖人其他任何球員。
戴維斯笑著說：“我告訴他給我球。他在這方面做得很好。” “他很有遠見，他可以通過最好的傳球，所以他們很難停止擋拆，讓我設定擋拆，然後他接球，然後當擋球時他就能找到我們的射手偏軟，所以他打的不錯。”
詹姆斯也有可能在公開賽中通過傳球將球隊分開。
上個賽季，當時的湖人教練盧克·沃爾頓（Luke Walton）採用了平等過渡遊戲。無論是誰搶到了長時間的防守籃板或通過傳球道沖刷搶斷-無論是像隆索·鮑爾（Lonzo Ball）還是朗多（Rondo）甚至布蘭登·英格拉姆（Brandon Ingram），蘭斯·斯蒂芬森（Lance Stephenson）或邁克爾·比斯利（Michael Beasley）之類的控球后衛，都有權成為突破點的引擎。
但是，沃格爾（Vogel）將車鑰匙交還給詹姆斯，並希望他儘可能多地開車。
沃格爾說：“我們已經創造了一個我們希望有一個主要的控球員的環境，而去年是勒布朗和其他人都可以站出來推動突破。” “大多數快攻隊都對這種方式以及任何人可以推動，任何人可以應付的方式都有這種心態。我們已經走了一點老派。這可能就是為什麼你在這種情況下看到勒布朗更多的原因。 ”
在職業生涯的早期，詹姆斯在比賽結束時轉會給隊友而不是打自己的電話時感到很熱。
隨著時間的流逝，這些本能發生了變化。詹姆斯變得喜歡擔負起或不負命題後果的傢伙。根據ESPN Stats＆Info的研究，他在第四節或加時賽的最後10秒內協助完成了六個超前射門得分（包括季後賽在內為七個），並在該跨度中打出了9個射門（17次，包括季後賽）。
然而，毫無疑問，如果他看到一個開放的隊友-是2018年NBA總決賽第一場的喬治·希爾（George Hill）還是上賽季常規賽對陣奧蘭多魔術（Orlando Magic）的邊鋒肯塔特·考德威爾·波普（Kentavious Caldwell-Pope）-詹姆斯會找到他的。
沃格爾說：“他可能是遊戲史上最好的決策者之一。”
球可能會穿過詹姆斯，但與詹姆斯一起比賽，您將得到球。
詹姆斯說：“我只是試圖在我們的遊戲計劃體系中發揮作用，並讓我的射手得到更多的機會。” “如果我的隊友不投籃，我就不會得到助攻，這全歸結為這些。因此，他們應該得到所有榮譽。”
Legend has it he developed his appreciation for the pass as a 9-year-old playing for the Summit Lake Hornets in a rec basketball league in Akron, Ohio. He fed a diminutive teammate named Sonny Spoon by rolling the rock his way. It was the only way the little guy could control the ball without being knocked over. Spoon scooped up the delivery, put the ball in the hoop and James relished in Spoon's score more than if it were his own.
Decades later, as he has climbed into the top five on the NBA's all-time scoring list and made the defining play of his illustrious career with a chase-down block in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, his passing remains as important of a skill as ever.
Now in his 17th season, James has shifted from small forward to point guard. And as the Los Angeles Lakershave stacked up wins, so too has James racked up assists.
James is averaging a league-leading 11.1 assists, hitting double digits in eight of Los Angeles' first 11 games.
Should he maintain his lead, it would be the first assist title of James' career. Can he keep it up?
"I don't know," James said recently. "That's never been a goal of mine. ... The assist has always been my favorite because it gives my teammates an opportunity to score. And that's what's always mattered to me."
Individual statistics don't matter much to James these days -- earlier this month he even wore a hat embroidered with a patch that read "awards mean nothing" to a game in Dallas -- but his ability to continue to imprint control on the game as he enters his mid-30s does matter.
If James keeps dishing dimes at this rate, he would obliterate the record of the best assist average for a player in his 17th season or later (John Stocktoncurrently holds the mark with 8.7 assists per game in 2000-01).
"He's going to make the right play every time and he delivers the ball on time, on target everywhere or just about everywhere he throws it -- to the 3-point line or lobs at the rim or back cuts or whatever," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "He's just one of the best passers I've been around."
James' first of a dozen dimes Wednesday night came just seven seconds into a 120-94 win against the Golden State Warriors, a pinpoint lob sent from beyond the 3-point to JaVale McGee, who readily deposited it into the basket.
James' Lakers teammates recognize that they'd better be alert at all times when sharing the court with him.
"Playing with LeBron, he's the center of attention at all times," Kyle Kuzma said. "Everybody's looking at him, so sometimes when guys come here, they're not really used to having wide-open shots, and that's something that he supplies."
Not all open shots are equal. Just like the defense pays extra attention to James, so too do the fans. When James provides an open look, it can feel as if every eye in the arena turns toward the shooter.
"My rookie year it was a lot of pressure," said Quinn Cook, now on his second stint alongside James after playing with him in Cleveland during the 2015 preseason. "I was like, 'Wow, LeBron is passing me the ball. I got to make it.' But I'm kind of over that phase now. He puts us in great positions to be successful and you just want to shoot the ball with confidence."
Avery Bradley gets the impression that some of the passes James makes are only possible because of the four-time MVP's uncanny court vision.
"I was joking the other day with one of the guys on the bench," Bradley recalled. "I said, when I watch film, and a coach says, 'You should have seen this pass ...' He sees that during the game in real time. Just incredible."
Rajon Rondo won an assists title in the 2015-16 season, averaging 11.7 helpers with the Sacramento Kings. He says there's no real secret to earning the distinction.
"What does it take? Guys making shots," Rondo said.
Rondo was reticent to rank his and James' passing ability: "It might be 1A and 1B," he said. That's exactly how James and the Lakers' big-time offseason acquisition, Anthony Davis, have been similarly described.
It is vital for the Lakers to get the most out of Davis this season, not only to give themselves their best chance to win, but to pave the way for the big man to re-sign with the franchise as a free agent next summer.
Putting James at point guard has assured that Davis will be a focal point of the Lakers' offense. Through the Lakers' first 11 games, Davis received 29 assists from James, according to data from ESPN Stats & Information, more than any other Lakers player.
"I told him give me the ball. He's doing a great job with that," Davis said with a laugh. "He has great vision, he can pass with the best of them, so it's tough for them to stop that pick-and-roll, with me setting the pick and he handling the ball, and then when that's clogged up he's able to find our shooters on the weak side so he's making all the right plays."
And James is just as likely to pick apart a team with the pass in the open court.
Last season, then-Lakers coach Luke Walton employed an egalitarian transition game. Whoever grabbed the long defensive rebound or burst through the passing lane to swipe the steal -- be it a point guard like Lonzo Ball or Rondo or even Brandon Ingram, Lance Stephenson or Michael Beasley -- was empowered to be the engine on the break.
Vogel, however, gave the keys to the car back to James and wants him driving as much as possible.
"We've created an environment where we want to have a primary ball handler, whereas last year it was both LeBron and other guys who could get out and push on the break," Vogel said. "Most fast-break teams have that type of mindset of how it is and how anybody can push, anybody can handle. We've gone a little bit old school that way. That's probably why you're seeing LeBron more in that situation."
As time has gone by, those instincts have shifted; James has come to relish being the guy to carry the consequences of the make-or-miss proposition. He has assisted on six go-ahead field goals in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime (seven, including the playoffs), according to ESPN Stats & Info research, and has made nine such shots in that span (17, including the playoffs).
Yet, unmistakably, if he sees an open teammate -- be it George Hill under the hoop in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the wing in a regular-season game against the Orlando Magic last season -- James will find him.
"He's probably one of the best decision-makers in the history of the game," Vogel said.
The ball might go through James, but play with James and you will get the ball.
"I'm just trying to play within the system of what we're trying to do in the game plan, and get my shooters and get my bigs opportunities," James said. "I don't get the assists if my teammates don't make the shots, that's what it all boils down to. So they deserve all the credit."
Earlier in his career, James caught heat when he passed to teammates in end-of-game situations rather than call his own number.
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