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LeBron James Sought Help From 1990s Superstar To Improve Post Game

Shandel Richardson

May 4, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Former Houston Rockets Hakeem Olajuwon acknowledges the crowd during Los Angeles Clippers timeout in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Los Angeles Clippers won 117 to 101. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images
May 4, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Former Houston Rockets Hakeem Olajuwon acknowledges the crowd during Los Angeles Clippers timeout in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Los Angeles Clippers won 117 to 101. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images
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NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon has always viewed it as giving back.

Since retiring, he has worked with several players on their post game. The emphasis is mainly footwork, which Olajuwon displayed often during his Hall of Fame playing days.

In 2011, he took on the challenge of developing LeBron James. At the time, James was searching for his first championship with the Miami Heat.

“I saw all of the moves we worked on,” Olajuwon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “When you work with a player, the satisfaction is in knowing that now, when it counts, when it is valued, he is executing.”

James sought help because he had just finished a subpar performance in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. He was mostly ineffective because the team was still adjusting to playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. At times, the Mavs defended James with guard JJ Barea.

While Barea only guarded a few possessions, James' struggles in the post quickly became the narrative.

James never became dominant in the post but the training sessions with Olajuwon did contribute to an improved offensive game. James led the Heat to two titles before winning a couple more with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.

“When we started to work on all the drills of the post, at the beginning there were some moves that he was not used to,” Olajuwon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “That was challenging for him. As great of an athlete as he is, some moves he’s not comfortable with.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com