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LeBron doesn't think defense in the NBA has evolved by much: "There is too much switching"
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- LeBron doesn't think defense in the NBA has evolved by much: "There is too much switching"
LeBron doesn't think defense in the NBA has evolved by much: "There is too much switching" originally appeared on Basketball Network .
As a player who has been at the top of opponents' scouting reports for 22 seasons, LeBron James knows a lot about how NBA defenses work. And he conjectured that that part of the game hasn't evolved by much, especially with the frequency with which defenders switch. This means that instead of formulating complex schemes to stop or merely slow down the league's superstars, teams are satisfied with letting their defenders switch assignments.
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LeBron's comments came during a discussion on the "Mind The Game" podcast regarding the state of defense in the league. With the wanton barrage of outside shots and players' incredible versatility these days, guest Kevin Durant queried whether defenses have gotten better in the NBA over the years.
It's a switch league
Bron immediately answered that he doesn't think NBA defenses have gotten better, especially with the switching scheme nearly every team employs. However, James clarified that not every team is equipped to switch effectively, as its effectiveness largely depends on the personnel a team has.
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"No, not in a sense," LeBron responded . "Because I don't want to say more creative. It's a switch league now. Everyone wants to switch, and to be honest, the only way that you could just switch is you have to have the personnel to do it."
"But I think the creativity is happening. New York did a good job of this — sometimes when Jalen Brunson was getting switched off on (Pascal) Siakam, they were doing a great job of kicking him out, especially on the post," he continued.
James observed that some teams employ a strategy where they quickly "switch off" and instruct a smaller player to move to the weak side, effectively avoiding a mismatch. This tactic, often described as "kicking a small guy out," ensures the smaller player is repositioned to maintain a more balanced defensive setup.
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"I think that's been communicated a lot better, like kicking a small guy out, telling him to go weak side corner or find somebody on the weak side," he clarified. "Because there's not too many guys that can actually make the pass once the switch happens, he rolls him down, and he can fire it weak side to get the shot. There's not many guys in our league that can make that. So I think as far as the creativity in that range, it has gotten better."
It's the offense that has gotten more creative
The podcast's co-host, Steve Nash , flipped the script and asserted that playing in the league has become more strenuous, primarily due to the creativity of NBA teams' offensive schemes.
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"I would almost flip it — it's not that the defense has evolved; maybe offenses have challenged them more. They're challenging them more these days with new solutions: playing fast, shooting the ball from farther out," the retired guard stated.
LeBron touched on one team that briefly dominated the league in the early 2000s, the Sacramento Kings , and how their creativity on offense almost led them to an NBA title.
"That's why Sacramento was so damn good. They had a lot early on — ahead of their time," King James remarked. "I mean, their bigs were shooting the three. (Peja) Stojakovic was shooting the three. Bobby Jackson came off the bench, shooting the three. Vlade, from time to time, would pop. Brad Miller would pop. C-Webb used to pop a little bit. That's what made them so damn dynamic, because they were so far ahead of their time."
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While the phrase "Defense wins championships" may be true, there's another well-known basketball adage that offers a compelling counterpoint: "A good defense can always be outdone by better offense."
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
