LeBron James has never once in his life played college basketball, but NCAA games are still the ones that stress him out more than NBA matchups. Part of the reason is his eldest son, Bronny, whose freshman season at USC came to an end on March 14 after a 70-49 blowout loss to the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals. Watching his son play at the collegiate level made James pay more attention to NCAA basketball, but who knew it would become a source of anxiety for Papa James?

In the recently released episode of Mind the Game, James admitted that it’s hard for him to watch college basketball games, which he does now more than ever with his son playing, because of his ability to easily spot mistakes while watching NCAA games. “It is hard watching a 40-minute college basketball game. It’s hard. I get more anxiety and I sweat more watching college basketball, especially my son now, than I’ve ever done in my life.”

One particular strategy that the Lakers forward questioned was coaches trying to feed the ball to big men in the post who don’t necessarily have the skills to utilize that position effectively. James believes that the ball should only go to a big man in the post if he can quickly pass the ball back out to teammates, which forces the defense to adjust. If the said big isn’t good at driving to the basket or scoring close to it, their job would be to shrink the defense, creating more space for other players to score. While on the topic of college basketball, James also name-dropped the college basketball team he hated the most.

 LeBron James Hated Duke

LeBron James revealed that he used to hate the Duke basketball team. But regardless of his feelings towards the Blue Devils, he enjoyed watching JJ Redick on the team. “I f–king hated Duke, but I loved watching you,” admitted James. However, his feelings towards Duke’s basketball team have changed since. But what led to this change of heart?

Michael William Krzyzewski, known as Coach K, is the reason behind James’ changed feelings. “I love Duke now because K is my guy now for obvious reasons,” said the Lakers star. LeBron James played under Coach K from 2006 to 2012, winning gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, and a bronze in the 2006 FIBA World Cup.

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Coach K took over as the head coach of the Duke men’s basketball team in 1980. During his tenure, he led Duke to 5 NCAA titles, made 13 Final Fours, and made 26 Sweet Sixteens before retiring in 2022 at the age of 75. Before his 647th and last game, James bestowed the highest praise upon the legendary coach, stating, “Coach K is one of my favorite coaches if not my favorite. I had an opportunity to play for him multiple times, and his ability to connect with players from all different shapes and sizes and age groups. It’s unbelievable. You understand, and you know why he’s the leader and the ‘G.O.A.T’ that he is. I think he’s the greatest of all time.”

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