LeBron James Proves Again He’s the Best Passer in the NBA
Best passer in the game, easily
The coolest thing about watching LeBron James over the past several years, as he advances into his mid-30s, has been watching him constantly evolve as a player. Most notably, in the past three seasons, he’s looked to pass the ball more. After only averaging more than 7.4 assists per game once in his first 12 seasons, LeBron put up averages of 8.7, 9.1 and 8.3 assists over the past three years.
Lost in the highlight dunks, clutch shots and chase-down blocks is the fact that LeBron has always been a really slick passer. He understands the game so well and sees everything on the floor three steps before it happens.
His incredible court vision and creativity was on full display in the Lakers’ preseason game against the Warriors on Wednesday night. On a fastbreak in the third quarter, LeBron initially went up for a contested layup but decided at the top of his jump to kick it—behind his head, without looking—to Danny Green in the corner for the open three.
It looks even more ridiculous from this angle.
That wasn’t even the only highlight reel assist LeBron had last night. Check out this mid-air touch pass to Dwight Howard for the alley-oop.
The Lakers might not win the title, but at least we’ll get to see LeBron dropping dimes like that.
The best of SI
The change in the baseball is the storyline we can no longer ignore in the MLB playoffs. ... The USMNT’s loss to Canada was just a symptom of a bigger problem and U.S. Soccer has only itself to blame. ... Ranking every NBA team by how entertaining they are.
Around the sports world
Some guy asked Myles Garrett for a photo and then punched him in the face. ... An Alabama student who called in a bomb threat on LSU’s football stadium allegedly said he did it because his friend was about to lose a bet. ... A youth football coach faces a two-game suspension and a $500 fine because his team won 36–0. ... Alex Smith says he had 17 surgeries on his injured leg. ... A Lakers fan raised $43,000 to pass out pro-Hong Kong shirts at their opening game.
There aren’t many worse ways to lose your first game of the year
Vince Carter is immune to time
So is Jaromir Jagr
Connor McDavid skates like the wind
A header from the midfield line!
He made that look easy
Beautiful day for practice
She knocked it out of the park
Not sports
A Paris zoo has unveiled a new organism that sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. ... People in Australia keep claiming to have seen the Tasmanian tiger, more than 80 years after it went extinct. ... Did you know you can make a living selling bugs on the internet?
Recreating the milkshake from Pulp Fiction
When someone opens the door to the bathroom
A good song
Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to seeprevious editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.