Mind the Game - Broken Streaks, Broken Records and How The MVP Got Even Better

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

Welcome to another episode of Mind the Game with LeBron James and Steve Nash. In this episode, LeBron reflects on his incredible streak of scoring 10 points or more and how the streak was broken in poetic fashion. He also talks about all the records he’s broken over the years and the records he’s still chasing and Steve Nash shares an amazing story about becoming Top 3 in assists. Our main story is about how the MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has gotten even better this season. Then LeBron and Steve do a deep dive film session on SGA’s improved playmaking. Finally, the fellas answer a fan question for all the short hoopers out there.From all of us at Mind the Game, we wish you a Happy Holidays. We’ll see you in 2026!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up on this episode of Mind the Game. I'm first all-time in points, but I'm also fourth all-time and assists. Ahead of me, I think. Maybe, slightly. Was there any moments during the nearly 300 games where you're like, oh, man, I got, you know, I didn't think tonight was the night. Yeah, I mean, there was some close calls for sure. And that was one of the moments where I was like, oh, yeah, very easy could have ended, you know, that night, you know, for sure.

My teammates make jokes with me all the time before I go out. They always say, well, there's going to be another LeBron record tonight of first guy that ties and shoestrings a hundred times in the game, LeBron James. It's not the player's fault on being able to master the rulebook. The one that I think we need to be careful of, just to make it... I know which one of you're about to mention, but go ahead. I don't know if you are going to roll some clips of Shea's playmaking

because I want to take a look at some things that I think he's taking a leap at, and I want to see how you feel about some of these plays. This episode is presented by the all-new Alexa Plus. Your smart, proactive assistant now understands your style and anticipates what's next. Whether you need help finding a meaningful gift or planning a fun night out, you can enjoy a personalized experience based on your preference. Say the word and Alexa delivers across Echo, Fire TV, and more. Learn more at Amazon.com slash new Alexa.

All right, we're back. Mind the game. We're back, baby. Yeah, how are we doing? I mean, the last time we talked, you hadn't quite come back yet. You were just practicing the G-League team, South Bay Lakers. How's the body? How's the mind? How are you feeling? Yeah, I'm gonna get better. The ramp up has been a plus.

us. The body has responded very well. Each and every day, you know, as I get into, you know, more conditioning and more training. And, you know, I guess all that comes with just rhythm and time. So, you know, it started off, you know, just, you know, slowly but surely. But, you know, it's starting to pick up and the body is starting to respond very well. And I'm happy to be back out there. I'm having a good time. You know, we went in some ball games. Obviously, we dropped a couple. Didn't play. as well as we would like to, but playing some good ball. Playing some very good ball recently. What's the last thing for you? Like conditioning, legs, travel, rhythm, timing. Like, what was the last bit where you're like, oh, man, I just need a couple more days? Yeah, I think it's the, it's the travel.

It's the travel and the conditioning. You know, you're coming back and I was here doing a majority of my ramp up and doing the majority of my rehab and everything. And then, you know, we have, had our first East Coast road trip. We went to Toronto, Boston and Philly. And first time in a minute did I change time zones

and things of that nature. So my sleep pattern had got messed up. And routine was kind of messed up a little bit as well. So that was challenging. And then also just conditioning. Like I said, missing those first few months at a season and not being able to run, not being able to condition like I'm accustomed to.

you know, that takes away from the legs. You know, once, you know, your heart rate goes too high or you start to feel a little tired and fatigued and your mind start going and your legs go as well. So, but definitely starting to feel a lot better, you know, playing at longer spurts, being able to, you know, do the things I'm accustomed to doing. Yeah, there's nothing like playing, right?

You can't simulate it no matter what you do. Man, nothing, nothing. Even like playing in practice scrimmages is not quite like game scrimmages. Right, right. I find it fascinating though you brought up to travel because I think that's something we take for granted, right? Especially if you haven't traveled from a while. Like the start of the season, you always are adapting back to that journey of time zones and travel and, you know, two games and three nights or three games in four nights, four games and five nights, five games in seven nights, and then maybe having like two games in seven days.

And like both ways, it's an adaptation. I don't know that fans sometimes understand like we struggle with that sometimes. Yeah, absolutely. You know, that was a, we had three and four nights, you know, we went on that East Coast road trip. You know, we played, played Toronto on that Thursday, back-to-back, you know, Friday in Boston, and then Sunday in Philly. And then after the Philly game, we flew back to L.A., which was a five-hour and 45-minute flight. You know, it was definitely taxing on all of us, taxing on the body, taxing on the mine, you know, going from different hotels and different elevators and all that, you know, all that notion and different climates. as well, but it's, you know, it's all part of the journey, you know, but it's challenging,

but it's all part of the journey. You just try to take it all in. What do you think is the hardest? I always felt like when we played in the West, when we went east on a road trip, then coming home west, that next game was the hardest one. Do you feel that too? Absolutely. Always, always, because you're, you're, you know, you're not on the East Coast long enough to get to East Coast time zone. But you're there long enough to actually get out of your, you know, your local time zone, wherever that is. You know, so it definitely messes with you. And like I said, that last game that we had in Philly, you know, we played at 7, down to the wire game.

We get on a plane five hours and 45 minutes back to L.A. We don't get back to like 3.30 in the morning. So that very next day is like, you know, you're spending the next day and a half just trying to get back to normalcy. You know, you're not got your sleep pattern is off. You don't sleep well, whatever case may be. So whenever that next game is, if it's one day, if it's two days, if it's three days, it's just going to be so odd and awkward for sure. I miss the grind.

I don't miss that part of it. The five hours back home, like, be messed up for a day. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's rough. It's rough. Legs are gone when you tip off. You're like, yeah, for sure. Try to find yourself for like the first quarter now.

Yeah, it take you a little longer to start sweating and all that type of stuff. I feel the ball feels a little different, like it's a little bit of everything, yeah. Right? Oh, man, for sure. Well, already this season, you've had a historic streak come to an end. The longest streak in NBA history, you went 1,297 games with scoring 10 points or more. Like, that's a crazy record. That's your floor, basically, is 10 points.

It's insane over the course of. of almost 1,300 games. Did you feel so confident in that that you just thought like, well, this is going to last the rest of my career? Are you like, no, it could happen any night? No, I mean, for me, it was never even a fault, you know. And, you know, once people start talking about it more and more every day,

obviously human nature kind of kicks in, you know, I'm a guy that goes to the bench, and I like to look at the stats. I like to look at, you know, team turnovers, my personal turnovers. you know, fast break points, what we're giving up, you know, points off turnovers, whatever case may be. And I look what I'm shooting from the field. Like, I like to be super efficient. So, you know, I would be lying to say that I don't know how many points I have at any given moment of the game. But I don't go in a game. I never went to the game during the streak saying, okay, I have to get 10 points. Like, I have to keep this streak going. It would be a disservice to me in the way I play the game.

And it showed in how the streak ended on how I'll. always play the game. It's just how can we win? How can we win? Listen, I've done some incredible things in my career and to be able to be, to have a streak, to be able to be mentioned with some of the greatest, to be able to live out my dream. It's all just like, it's surreal to me. So, but the one thing that's going to always be a common thing for me is just always making the right play. And for for at the end and that, fashion was literally just the way I was taught how to play the game and I've always done it that way. So for those who didn't see it, late game in Toronto, Bron has eight points. How many were you

down? Down two? Tie. Tie game. Tie game. Ty game. Bron draws a crowd, makes a pass to Rui, I think, in the left corner. Rui hits a three for the game. Incredible pass, incredible play. Made the right play, like you said. We talked about it before. earlier in your career, you used to take heat for not taking the last shot, which is ridiculous, right? Like, you got to make the right play. And so here you go again with your streak on the line, you make the right play. But so clearly you were aware you hadn't got your 10 points. Yeah, I was clearly aware.

You know, I was so not in the rhythm at that point. I was, I don't even know how I mean, I think it may be maybe my fourth or fifth, maybe six game back. Yeah. I had no rhythm offensively, but the one rhythm I know that I will always have is the ability to draw the crowd and put the ball on time on target. You know, so, you know, I had a couple shots in that game where literally I had a three on the right wing that would have put me up to 11 points that literally hit all the rim, hit the backboard, came back around the rim again, and then came out. I was like, okay, it's one of those nights. It's one of those nights. So, you know, the mindset has always stood to, obviously, you know, at the end of the day,

keep the main thing, the main thing. And that's just winning the game. Yeah, well, it was poetic that you ended your streak with a dime for game. Was there any moments during the nearly 1,300 games where it was the closest, where you're like, oh, man, I got, you know, I didn't think tonight was the night. Yeah, I mean, there was some close calls for sure. You know, I remember, you know, I had a season in which I believe. I don't know if it was 2021 or 22 or maybe 20,

I don't know, coming out of the bubble. And I was playing some of the best basketball of my career, even at that stage of my career. And we were playing Atlanta, and, you know, my leg got rolled up on. And, you know, anytime that I've got, like, you know, spring my ankle or my leg got rolled up on or whatever, I, like, had this routine.

I'm like, okay, you feel it. But let's just tighten the shoes. Let's tighten the shoes up a little bit tighter. And let's get going. And, you know, I played a little bit more through it. You know, I was in the left wing, got a pass, hit a three. I think that actually put me up to 10 points, you know. And my legs just started, like, getting really, really hot.

And, like, I could barely run. And I had to come out of the game. And, you know, basically, long story short, I think I was out maybe four to six weeks with a high ankle sprain. And that was one of the moments where I was like, oh, yeah, I had, they're very easy could have ended, you know, that night, you know, for sure. And there was a couple of other moments too, but, yeah, that was definitely one that had like six out in the front of my mind. I think that's what makes the streak so incredible is there's so many things they can go wrong. Like we're talking, like I said, 1297 games.

Like you said, in Toronto, ball gets every part of the ring, backboard rim, and goes out, right? Like, that could have happened in any of those games where you didn't have it or whatever. But the most, I think, improbable part is that you didn't get hurt in a game before you got 10 points. So, like, that was the closest. But like that to your longevity or your durability, like that's as much as your floor being 10 points, so to speak, and on a really weird, wacky wildoff night, it's also the fact that you never got, like, in all those games, had to leave the game before you had 10 points. Right, right.

That is, you know, because we see, you know, a lot of our great players, you know, today and in the past, whatever the case may be, have to leave the game in the first quarter, you know, you know, for any, for whatever reason or second quarter for whatever reason and, you know, and, you know, be under 10 points, you know, and it's, it's just weird. I'm super blessed, man, super humbled. It's just, I didn't even know it was a stat. I didn't know it was a record, you know, and for me. to be able to accomplish something in such an unbelievable league and with so many great players, it was just super cool. Well, I mean, you kind of made it one because you went on so long. Like, I think if the, I don't know who was second, but if second is like 500, now you're like 700-something past, second, yeah, it becomes a big deal, right? I mean, you're also the all-time leading score in the league.

So what, like, that's one, though, that you can't hide from. Right, like, that's a, oh, okay, we project. out, you know, five years at this average, he's going to pass Kareem. Like, that one must have been more of a microscope and it just builds and builds and builds. Obviously, there becomes a point where you know that's happening. What was that like? Like, the flip side. Right. And it's, I never set out a goal to be the all-time lead score in the NBA history. Like, I looked at that number, you know, as a rookie, as a high school kid, as an elementary kid, middle school kid.

And I was like, oh my, oh my goodness. Like that is so many points. Not only so many points, it's so many years of dominance and longevity. You know, guys are not playing that long. Guys are not playing into their 20th year or 19th year or 21st year or whatever the case may be. And as the years went on and I started to like, you know, past guys and past guys. And I started to, you know, feel like my. My body was like not breaking down at year 15, 16, 17, and I kept climbing the ranks, you know, and then they started doing those, well, you know, if you keep this pace up in six years, he'll be right here.

If he keep this pace up in five years, if he keep this pace up in four years, and then I started, it started becoming like a realistic thing, you know, because I felt like my body was not breaking down, you know, and that's when it became a thing. Like, you know, if you keep this pace up, if he averages his average of 27 points, 25 points a year for 65 games a season for the next four or five years, then he'll be right there. He has a chance to break it. You know, so, you know, a few years back, it was like, you know, in 35 games, 45 games, if he keeps this up. Like, I was like, it started to become like nerve wrecking and also like, oh my God, like, is this really a possibility? You know, there's certain. there's certain stats in sports history that you just don't ever think that's going to be broken and that happened to be one of them. And for me to be able to accomplish that feat

while not trying to accomplish defeat, I think that's even more like surreal to me. You know, like I'm first all time in points but I'm also fourth all time in assist. You know, so it's like, Ahead of me, I think. Maybe.

Slightly. Yeah. So it's like, wow, it's like, it's just pretty cool, man, you know. And, you know, for that moment to happen, family, friends, everybody. Kareem holds the ball to me, you know, and gives me the ball, passes it down to me. Like, bro, that was a, that's amazing. Unbelievable surreal moment. Unbelievable.

Yeah. As far as record books go. That's top of the top. I have no, I have zero NBA records. I think I was, I think I was for a minute, a leader in career free throw percentage. And then Steph, Steffed. Oh, man, Steph stepped you. We talked about this a lot with a Steph on our, he stepped you.

He staffed me, which, which is cool. I mean, he's, you know, anything to be next to him is cool for me. But, you know, I never got to the top of the assists, but I did get to third until you and I think Chris, Paul, I'm not sure if someone else, but I got to third. So the funny thing about getting to third was they started to make a big deal out of it. You're almost third. It was Stockton, J-Kid, Mark Jackson, and then me. And so I'm playing for the Lakers, end of my career. Body is broke.

Kobe was out for the year with Achilles. I was I played 11 games with total struggle the whole year with nerve damage and all sorts of stuff and so but I wanted to play you know I was like I wanted to play and so Mike tantan Tony was our coach and they were like well I was playing a bit then I'd be injured I'd play a bit of injured they're like well you're getting close to this assisting and finally they were like hey listen like you know we're not going anywhere this year you guys have all been hurt we want to play the young guys we had like three younger point guards and they asked me and I was like I get it okay I'll sit down. Well, of course, like in a month, they all got hurt. So they're like, hey, do you

want to play again? And I was like, yeah, I'll play. And so I started creeping closer to this record. Not that I, you know, I thought, oh, I got another year of my contract. I'll get it at some point. Right, right, right. So I'm getting closer, I'm getting closer, I'm getting closer, but my body is also literally falling off a cliff. Like, I mean, like, it's a, I can barely sit down. I can barely stand up. Like, I'm always uncomfortable. My body was a mess. So, but But anyways, it comes to it. And I think I needed like, I don't know, 7, 8, 9, 10 assists to pass Mark, Jackson. And so Mike's like, hey, I know you don't feel about it.

Do you want to just play tonight? Just play until you get the assists, and then I'll pull you out. Because it was kind of like a development year. Like I still getting a lot of injuries. You know, and I said, yeah, all right, let's do it. So I went out and played. I think we were playing Houston at Staples. And just limping around out there, one assist, two, a three assists.

Like, whatever, it finally got to whatever it was, 7, 8, 9, 10 assists in the first half. I got the assist. Mike subs me out. I walked straight to the locker room, getting the cold tub, start getting treatment. And so I won assist the head of Mark Jackson. Little do we know I never played in the NBA again.

Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah, I never played again because I came back. I didn't play the rest of the year. It was like in March, I think. Yeah. So March, April, it was banged up, didn't play. Came back.

And we talked about it. We talked about that. On our Steph Curry episode. And you was like, no more. That's it. No more. I retired in the next train. handicap. Wow. What a blessing. What a blessing. I guess. I mean, I feel bad for Mark. I mean,

he got, he got passed by a secondhand car that was about to blow up on the side of the freeway, but, uh, by one. But, uh, I mean, it's cool to, to just be a part of those lists and history of the game when you love the game. I think we both feel like historians in the game in some small way. Uh, it's cool to remember those moments. No, for sure. people the people you share it with like going to be passing that on to you like i mean it doesn't really get much better than that no it does not it does not you watch the game so much man as a kid and read about it and you know you play it outside and you you know you're making these moves you count down five four three two one on outdoor court you know you know like it's like it's just

a real moment like when you're able to step out on the basketball court you know in the NBA you look up in the rafters you see the guys numbers that's retired you're you're You see the, you know, they come to the games, you know, from time to time. And it's just like, it's always a surreal cool moment. And to, like you said, to piggyback what you said, as far as your name, just being, you know, in the same list right below them or above them or whatever, whatever the case, maybe you all have a key to the same house. You know, you guys all dine in the same room. And I just think that's super cool. Yeah, for sure.

Is there any of those lists, records, things left for you? Or, like, is there one that's in your mind that's like, you think about once in a whole? long? No, man. It's no, it's not. No. My teammates make jokes with me all the time before I go out. They always say, well, there's going to be another LeBron record tonight. The first guy that ties his shoe strings, a hundred times in the game, LeBron James. Like, they just, they say, I hold every record. The first guy that runs out of the tunnel and don't look down or whatever. It's like there's a record for everything. So I don't know what's on the list. I don't know if I'm coming up on something or if I just kind of I've always been that way and like you know people come

up to me like did you know that you was like the other night I had no idea that um until after the game that I passed Robert Parrish for second most wins all time oh wow I didn't know that no I promise you people really think I mean I don't I didn't know that and they told me after the game you know I think that was the Philly game I think in Philly said I passed Robert Parrish for all time and wins and he actually sent out a pretty cool uh social media tweet as well too so that's cool shout out shout out uh big chief chief yeah that's amazing so who's first and wins do you know if i would have to take a guess i will say between maybe kareem and and big shot big shot bob wow i would say maybe robert ory or kareem i would say maybe robert or kareem i would

say that's a good question let's look that up i'm going to look it up real quick yeah look that up but uh i mean kareem for longevity you would think it'd have to be yeah i would think so and i you know i went off longevity over the top but you know obviously big shot plays so many games with so many great franchises and they did a lot of winning between houston and l.a and san antonio yeah yeah so it says it says uh kareem abdala jbar with 1,000 75 wins, followed by LeBron James, the only active player on the all-time list. There we go. Wow.

It has to be cruel. You know, well, 1,074. Now, you know what my next question is? How many wins? Leave me alone. Leave me alone. No, no, no. We're going to start the hype train.

Where am I right now? What did I say? 1,075? You said 1,074 for Kreme, I think, didn't you? 1,015. no for you 150 so

I guess that means you got to come back next year so don't do this Steve don't do this don't do this I'm not going for that record

well I have a feeling that it might have no choice it might be no choice it might be there Thank you to our partner Alexa Plus. You know in basketball, the best plays happen when everything flows naturally.

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Plus, you get access to player profiles, documentaries, and more. So you can keep up with what's happening in the league at 40,000 feet in the air. How cool is that? Go to emirates.com to book your trip now. I'd love for you and I to highlight Shea Gilgis Alexander. It is incredible play. I think he's gotten better. Yeah.

And, you know, the reason I make that correlation on the streak is that I think he's, at the time of recording here, he's in the 90s of 20 game streaks. And so by the time this goes out, it'd probably be knock on wood somewhere around. to a hundred or so, which is a pretty incredible milestone itself. But have you noticed that this guy, the MVP champion, finals MVP, he keeps getting better? Absolutely. And not only we're talking about the 20-point streak of how many so games, but doing it very efficiently too. Shooting at a high clip, obviously we know his mid-range game. I think he's even shooting his mid-range even higher than last year, you know, which is, you are correct.

Yeah. Which is outstanding. It feels like he, it feels like he never misses in the mid-range. I agree. I agree. I agree. Last year, he shot 50% from the mid-range. This year, he's up to 56% from the mid-range.

I mean, that's, that efficiency, he's the, you know, as you were, as you are and were in different ways, you know, you're the top of the scouting report every night, you know, you And so for you to be that efficient when the other team's job is to try to beat you up, tire you out, scheme you up, whatever it may be, that efficiency is crazy. No, that's crazy. And the last two years, 52% on twos outside of eight feet just ahead of KD. So, I mean, just phenomenal from the mid-range and getting even better this season. So I think that's, yeah, kudos. kudos kudos uh to go through some more um his three point percentage has gone up like seven eight points

um he's up to 44 percent on five threes a game so like i like think about shay you think about incredible in isolation um the midrange as we talked about incredible drive rate getting to the rim incredible foul rate uh i think in the top one two three last year in the top four already this year um And all the while, he has committing like one and a half turnovers. And so I think for a play, it's the lowest turnover rate of a player averaging 30 points for a season of all time. I mean, that's, we don't think of, of Shay as a high, high assist guy, very good playmaker, but a high high assist guy, but to only turn it over once when your usage, your degree

of difficulty, your need to get your team on the. score sheet, get to the foul line, like, to not turn it over more like is exceptional. We probably don't talk about it enough. That's body, his angles, the way he plays, his change of pace, and how tight his handle is. You know, like, you know, his handle is super tight. His change of pace is super tight. His angles, you know, everything. Like, he's just super, super detailed and efficient.

And, you know, that championship. you know, it actually makes you even go higher, you know, you've been able to do it. You did it. You reached a mountain top. And he's just, he's going even further now. You know, like you said, you know, his juices rate, you know, the number one of all time for a guy averaging 30, only having a little over one turnover of game, that is, that's excellent, almost perfect basketball right there.

That's crazy. Yeah, I think what I'd love to hear from you Like when you win a championship A lot of people can take it in different ways People could get complacent People could feel pressure to do it again Or as it feels with Shea is like A little bit like inspired by it and ready

And like came back better How much he wants it inspired by that And also like I'm playing on house money Like I already won one I like So like he saw like let me go higher Tell me a little bit about that the different ways you can approach winning in the next season. It's either one or the other.

It's no, it's either you go back to some of your old habits or you use that as a launching pad. You use that as a lily pad to even take it further. And I think what it sense to me is that Shay wants to be legendary. He wants to be known in this game for a long time well after he's done. And he wants to set a mark not only for OKC, but also for his country and for Canada, for his people, for his family.

He wants to, you know, he wants to set, you know, like, you know, you got you started, Steve. And, you know, and the, you know, when Vince went to Toronto, you get another, another buzz. And, you know, like, you know, you got Demar, you know, and Kyle what they was able to do there. And now Shea is a huge part of that basketball community. So it seems like that one, Toronto, I mean, I'm sorry, Canada,

you know, O KC, but then him. He wants to be, it seems like he wants to be great, you know, and, you know, greatness doesn't just come in one year or two years. It's done over and over and over and over. And he has that mentality. He's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, damn good out there on that basketball court. Incredible.

I, I, uh, I compared him on, on prime the other night, statistically to MJ as far as like a scoring guard efficiency like it's hard someone who grew up like me or start playing the game actually a little bit late by 13 years old like Air Jordan ones

commercials with Spike Lee this guy taking off like for me he's like my hero because that you're still a 13 year old 14 or 15. Right right. But I can see like statistically you can't argue like he's doing things in that category

at a scoring guard rate. So, I mean, it's phenomenal. But I'd say one thing where he has gotten better this year, and he mentioned this recently, was prioritizing his playmaking. You know, I think a little over seven assists a game. He's in more pick and rolls. The rating in pick and rolls has gone up from like 113 to 121,

like a big jump. And it's just been incredible to watch him start to, prioritize the playmaking because I think what he's thinking is like as in winning efficient basketball as you have done your whole career is you have to manipulate the defense and I feel like he's starting to realize he wants to play that type of chess that's important for him right and for him to continue to find new levels no absolutely and for them to continue to be as complete as a basketball team as they want to be and continue to maximize you know if shea is out there and he's making these plays and he could get the defense just to shift the chat

a little bit more. Shift to J. Dub a little bit more. Shift the Caruso a little bit more. You know, shift to those other guys just a little bit more because now Shea's making these plays and those guys are feeling in a rhythm. They feel uncomfortable. They know the ball is going to come to him. Okay, guess what that does for Shea? Now they gives him the one-on-one opportunities. Now it gets him, you know, the eyes off of him for a little bit of period of time, which we know he's very dangerous at already. He knows he has that game on lock. That's not. going anywhere. What can also make him a better player is

making sure those other guys be in rhythm too. And those other eyes that's out on the floor defensively are maybe shifting to some of those guys because he can always be able to get his. He's just that good. So that's just smart thinking. That's a great game plan.

And obviously we can see why they're sitting here with only two losses a little over a third into the season. What do you think is the best, game plan for Shay. I mean, obviously a game plan is in context of the entire team, but for him and that team, like, what are the coverages? What are the game plans? Like, what comes to mind for you?

You got to keep him off the free throw line, which is hard, which is hard. Like I said, he uses these angles. He knows how to manipulate the game in a good way. You know, he knows what to do, what not to do. He's always looking for hands and arms and elbows. If you're in in his space, that's just our game right now. You've got to respect it. It's to James Harden, how James was when James was dominant in Houston. So, but the more you could try to keep him off the free throw line, it helps, you know, because he's going to make his field goals, you know. Shea's going to make his 11 to 12 field goals a game at a high rate.

That's, that's already 24 to 25 to 26 points right there. He's making, you know, 11 field goals. That's 22 points. If he made a couple of threes, that's 24 points to 20. 26 points. But if you're giving him also 12 to 13 free throws when he shoots at a high clip, too, now that's when it's when 27 turns to 38, you know. And that's when it starts to become breakbacker. You get 38 from him. You get another 25 from J. Dub. You get another 20, you know, from Chet. You know, those bench guys come in. You know, Isaiah Joe start making some threes. Like, they, you know, it's, it's that, you know, you, you understand that this. The full team. You know, you know, you know, you understand that the full team. that you're playing against the head of the snake is Shay, but you've got to understand once he sees the ball go through from the free throw line, you know,

without happen to another body on him, you know, or some physical contact or somebody blitzing his pick and rolls or whatever, it just makes them even more dynamic when it also just trickles out to the rest of those guys. So you have to be disciplined. I know it's tough because you want to stop him so bad, but you have to understand that the greatest defense in the world has never been able to beat the great.

this offense. Never. For sure. That's, that is, yeah, NBA guys, I mean, defense wins championships, but in one particular play offense can exceed. Yeah, you got the best defense ever for that one particular play. Yeah, yeah. But the best offensive play is always going to win that.

Yes, defense does win championships, but for sure. And one particular play, you've got to live with the result. If you did your job, you did your job, you tip your hat to them. Yeah, yeah. That's the genius of the greats, right? You know, but talking about his free throw rate, you know, you know, you you would at the end of the day there's a math element right like how do you score more points and in what fashion and so but that's you're right like i think you did that through scoring and

playmaking you you're that was how you broke the math in a game he does it from scoring and the free throws and now he's adding the playmaking yeah the free throws though look i know people complain sometimes about grifting and all that but this is within the rules he's you know and i actually think while maybe he sells one or two, the vast majority he gets fouled. And it's an art the way he does it. Do you, I mean, do you, he's got to be up there with anyone in the game as far as being able to force defenders into fouls. Yeah, it is what the rules is. And he's figured out a way to master my the rule. But that's, I don't, that's not a problem. It's not a crime. It's not the player's fault on being able to master the rule.

rule book. Yeah. You know, it's not the player's fault. You know, and I know our fans, you know, get a little upset with it or sometimes or even something like, even some of the, you know, I even get, you know, sometimes upset with it in the moment, in the moment, you know, but also I got to understand it what the rules is and, you know, so, you know, you got Shea, you know, James still is very good at it. You got Luca who's very good at, AR is very good at it.

You know, so you have these, you know, you have these guys, you know, Jalen Brunson. You know, Tyree's Maxie, like, these guys are really, really good at it. And they figured out a way to, you know, get in the rhythm. Like, scores, the best way for a score to get into a rhythm is get an easy basket at the rim or get to the free throw line. That would never change. I don't care if a team starts shooting a hundred threes a game. For a score, you get a good, you get a layup or get to the free throw line. That's the best way to get your rhythm going.

You know, so guys are, we got some of the best guys in the league to understand how to do that. It's also a winning formula. You can set your defense. Oh, absolutely. He's an 80, I think 8 or something percent. Yeah. You set your defense. You set that OKC defense.

I mean, your team's winning a lot of those possessions. Yeah, see, I get it. I get why fans don't like the disruption to the flow of the game. Yeah. At the same time for me, when I watch these guys, any of them, like, take your pick. I think it's amazing. the art and the body control and the feel for playing

against their man within the context of the rules that is I think it's an art. I think it's an art. It is. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. The one that I think we need to be careful of just to make a slight... I know which one are you about to mention.

I don't know if you are. It's sometimes when the defender, offensive player and they close the gap and right when they're closing the gap, it's like a little bit of a embellishment. I think we got to let a little bit of contact. If he comes over and knocks him

or he draws him to him and goes through a shoulder, 100%. But it's the marginal one where they come back and it's, you know, that's the one that I think we got to make. And I don't remember. Yeah. And I don't remember when that, when that kind of changed.

It's kind of happened over like the last couple of years when that, like you're saying, that bang, bang, you know, play happens. And guys are just like, soon as they feel that kind of up, you know, like, yeah, yeah, it's smart. They put the, they put the onus on the referee. I would just like that that one of all the ones to make sure there's enough contact there. Like, I think if it's so, it's so often it's just marginal. Right.

I think we got to let him play like a couple times of like get up, you know, keep playing. Guys will take that one out of their bag. Yeah, for sure. The one where the guy closes too hard, he baited him to close and then he goes through a shoulder. They're like, no, no problem. It was a foul every time. We had a couple in our game last night against Phoenix, and I was like, they went against us.

I was like, that's not, it's just not a foul. It's just not a foul. It's not a foul. Being a Phoenix son, I think there were fouls. But I do think that's the one where it's marginal contact and there's some embellishment. Absolutely try if you're an offensive player. But I think that's the one the game could do.

with making sure there's enough contact. But they're not just looking for that slight thing and then going over. Yeah, I agree. I agree. I want to look at some clips of Shea's playmaking because I want to take a look at some things that I think he's taking a leap at and I want to see how you feel about some of these plays.

So here he is, a little fake reject, get a little space, draws a crowd, just a simple early pass. You know, like there's a time for him where he could slither into the pain here on Gobert, but he feels that defender slide up. And just like you said earlier, him making the play for his teammate comes back to him later. Yeah, it's an easy read,

but it's not always easily executed, especially by a lot of our guys in our league. And you got Ant that's high on the high shift, and you got Cason Wallace that's at the level of the ball and his defender right now. And just that one little drift by Cason just gets him a real, even a better shot, a corner three.

And that's just a great on-time on-target, you know, pass from Shea. Make or miss, it's the absolute 1,000% right play. All right, here we go. Another simple early pass. I mean, this stuff, it's nice. You've made all the passes in the book. But sometimes the most gratifying one is the simple early pass. Just to tell the defense, you can't play me like this.

You can't just stand chest to chest in the middle of the pain and leave my teammates open. And then you encourage your teammates that, no pressure. it every time drive it make place right and we know that a lot of our great scores you know you know she included in the past possibly would it even try to you know low dribble split and hopefully get the rake foul from devon booker with his arms out like that you know try to low dribble rake his arms up maybe try to get to the free throw line maybe get the foul maybe not but you know I just think this is just his progression of his you know maturation process as a player just just literally making the right play.

Guys in front of the ball, right in front of you, get off of it, make her missed by Mitchell, great play. I also think, like, once you make a couple of those plays, it gives you leeway to try other things later. If he wants to attack that help defender, he can later. But if it's every time attacking him, I think it puts you in a tough position now where they're winning the battle and there's no more cat and mouse.

Yeah, absolutely. Should I be in? should I be out, make them insecure. Yep. So I love this clip. Okay, first of all, there's a good defensive team. Dremont Green is his,

is receiving him on this pick and roll, not an easy person to sneak passes by. So just him feeling this slip out, getting below Dremon, and then early quick, this is where I think he's also improved. He's gotten slicker in his deliveries, if I can use that word,

where the ball time from the floor to the hand, to the pocket has gotten quicker and more urgency. And so gets in a rim attack, a rim attempt and a foul here. And what that does for me, it's not, again, like I keep saying, in these pick and roll scenarios, you know, it's about manipulation. It's about setting the table for how the game's going to be played. So Draymond takes a liberty here and allows his man to get behind him because he says, Shea's the number one focus.

And so Shea says, well, if you're going to stay above your man and Shea, me, I got to make this pass. So he's willing to make an early simple pass here. It's not a simple, it's a simple read. It's not a simple pass. No, absolutely. Especially against a great defensive team, especially against Dremont, who's seen every playmaker, you know, make plays over the last 15 plus years. I've seen a lot of great scores. And it's just a, like you said, it's a simple play, but not a simple pass. You know, he saw that opening right away when, when Dremont allowed, you know, Jaylon Williams to get below him on the row. And obviously, Draymond is, he's playing on the caution of, hey, I got to stop the head

of the snake. Hopefully my back line of defense got me covered back there. Obviously, there wasn't protected. Didn't have a low man, you know, from the weak side, low man. But that's just a good pass on time on target. And, you know, once again, putting OKC at the free throw line, whatever. They're just very good at it. It's also, that's a tricky angle because who's the low man there?

In another step, it's the corner he just came from, but step before, it's the other corner. So it puts those two help baseline defenders in a very difficult position. But again, Draymond's quite happy for him to make the play to him behind him because Shea's the number one. But if he does that two or three times, it puts him in a tougher and tougher position. Yep. Empty side here.

Yep, empty side. It comes on a green, a double. Right. Right. Right timing. Great timing. So they flood. Yeah, they flood.

Hardinstein, that flub, yeah. Pressures of Chua has no idea where the ball is right now. So he should be head on a swivel passing the cutter off. Passing the cutter off. Yeah, just sitting on top of Hardin's leg and then take the corner pass. But listen, that pass, he read that, you know, Shea read that pass to the corner before it even happened. As soon as he seen precious head turn, he knew that pass is open. You got Eubanks up there with Chet.

He's hugging him too. So you got a four and a five man on the perimeter to try to be in rotations, which they are not accustomed to doing. Yeah, you're absolutely right, though. As soon as he saw that head turned, he knew, I can throw this right over top of them. It makes it very hard to rotate, too. Great recognition. Great recognition.

All right. Here we have like a pretty standard pick and roll, two help side defenders on the weak side. What I like about this is they're high on Shea here. They've got him in this pocket here. He could try to skip this to the corner, but the reality is a skip to the corner is so far over high hands that that low man's going to get back out. So that by hitting Hartinstein on the roll here, he makes the low man rotate. And so then he can make the hockey assist. He passed to Hardinstein, who throws it out, and you get a one.

wide open one instead of potentially the skip pass here under pressure where that low defender is going to be there on catch. So I think this is a smart pass that manipulates for later in the game again. Yeah. And I think, you know, when you have a guy, a dynamic roller like Hardinstein, who's very good in the pocket, not only with his finishes, with his nice touchout floater, but also with his ability to playmate, it gives Shay a lot more confidence, too, to make that pocket pass to him, you know, on that short row. So that's a pretty good, pretty good dynamic between the two players. Versa very good athletic defensive team, too, in Minnesota.

That's a great point. I mean, to give your big the ball above the free throw line where he's got the high stunt, a lot of bigs are going to lose it to this guy stripping him, but he's able to handle the pass, handle the defender, and then read the low men and make the read. So, you know, it is, but that's his recognition too, right? That's a great play by Hartnstein, but that's Shea's recognition that I can give him this ball here and he'll make the play.

Absolutely, absolutely. A little flare action to a DHO. So I think he's improved at this. You know, I mean, this one in particular with the left hand is, you know, and you can talk to this, LeBron, is that what it does to a defender when you don't have to pick the ball up with two hands. But off the flow of the dribble, you can bait the defender. Because while that ball's hovering, that hang dribble here,

Rudy's like, well, I don't know, he might attack me. So he can't quite- Yeah, because he has the ability to attack right there too. He has a gap. Right. Yeah, he has a gap. So Rudy kind of is like a second late where he lets Hartenstein get below him again like we talked about. And Shane knows that if I don't pick this ball up, I can thread the needle underneath Rudy

and he's never going to get his hips back around the wall up here. So I think this is a very slick delivery that gets your team rim attempts by not picking it up. not picking it up out of two hands. No, that was big time. That's a big time pass right there. And we see Shea, too, with that offhand make a lot of, like, you know, pick up without bringing the other hand, you know, layups with the left hand, you know, off glass or whatever why he's, you know, in the paint, whatever the case may be.

And, you know, that left hand, that thread right there keeping the same momentum as Harnstein as he rolling, that's a dynamic pass for sure. playmaking is definitely we seeing it right there in just those five clips how much his playmaking has you know gotten better over the years and if you're rudy and he hangs that ball up and he threads that needle the next time he hangs that ball up you're back peddling as hard as you can and he's going down the lane with no resistance so there's a thought to him there's a manipulation there's a cat and mouse going on that i think has taken another level it's been fun to watch it is fun to watch The American Express Platinum card is now better than ever with updated benefits to help you unlock unforgettable experiences.

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Okay. You know, here's one from Slim Brady 44 on Apple. X. Slim Brady. Come on, Brady. I'm under six feet and love basketball. What individual skill should I prioritize working on in practice as the shortest guy on the court? There you go, Steve.

Great question for you. All right, thanks. You take it, shorty. But I think, like, you know, when you're an undersized player, you have to be a combination of things. You can't just be one thing, right? You have to try to use different skills. So the one place I would start is skill set. Like how tight can your handle be?

Can you handle the ball, protect the ball? You know, can you make clean passes on time on target? Then to take the next step, how well do you shoot the ball? Now, how much pressure do they have to put on you because of your shooting threat that makes you, you know, relieve pressure and get by people? So there's the skill set side of it. I would start with ball handling and shooting, ball handling and shooting. finishing, passing all the skills. But the other part of it is you have to be tough-minded.

You have to be relentless. You have to be willing to stick your nose in there, dive on the floor, take charges, do all the things that can get your team an extra possession that you can't get because of your height, length, wingspan. Yep. And I'll add a little bit to that. And how well is your conditioning? You know, if you're undersized, how long, for the time that you're on the floor,

can you pick the opposing point guard up 94 feet and turn them three or four times in the back court, you know, create some turnovers, create havoc, things of that nature. Like you said, put your body on the line, take charges, die for lose balls, get 50-50 balls. So like conditioning, you know, well, you know, if you're the best conditioned guy out there, that's one thing that height and weight and size and athleticism, you know, those things can't deter with that. So I think that's a part of it as well. so yeah i think you know to sum up both thoughts is there's plenty you might not be the tallest but there there's plenty out there for you to do if you control the controllables yeah control the controls be the best ball handler shooter best conditioned most resilient great teammate all those things that have value to your team that don't have anything to do

with size and strength so good luck to you slim brady brady brady 404 Thanks for watching Mind the Game. New episodes drop every other Tuesday. Remember to like, subscribe, or follow wherever you're watching.