Modern Moves: LeBron James’ chasedown blocks

There’s a superhuman element to the chasedown blocks LeBron James has made famous. Take the one he had on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals as an example.

According to Sports Science, James reached a top speed of 20.1 miles per hour on the sequence, which — as you can probably imagine — is insanely fast. Going that speed helped James make up the 7-feet separating him from Iguodala when the Warriors forward received the final pass from Stephen Curry. James then launched himself 35-inches into the air to pin Iguodala’s shot in the middle of the backboard, all in the closing minutes of the most important and exhausting game of his life.

Put any other player in the league in that position, and Iguodala makes the layup to put the Warriors up by two points with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

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But there’s also a strategic element to those blocks. The unsung hero on the play was J.R. Smith, who was the last Cavaliers defender back when it all began. While Smith didn’t get credited for doing anything specific on the play, him swinging at the ball in the way he did bought James an extra 0.15 seconds. As insignificant as it might sound, the “window of opportunity” ended up being only 0.20 seconds. Smith’s play on the ball therefore made all the difference.

Smith knew exactly what he was doing as well. James revealed on the Open Run podcast in 2016 that he tells his teammates to do whatever they can to change the momentum of the offensive player when they see him streaking up the court. Doing so allows James to “track [their shot]” and prevent an easy 2-pointer.

“In practice I always tell J.R., Shump, Kyrie and all our guards, if you see me running, if you can just make the offensive player change his momentum just a little bit, it will give me enough time to track it.” James explained on the podcast. “If you look at the play, J.R. swung over the top and Iguodala had to scrunch just a little bit instead of going up and jamming it. That gave me the split-second [I needed].”

Not all of James’ chasedown blocks involve one of his teammates, but most of them do. Here’s another example, this time from James’ days with the Heat:

Mario Chalmers basically did the same thing to Darren Collison as Smith did to Iguodala. He didn’t force Collison into taking a shot he can’t make — Collison would’ve likely capitalized on the opportunity with ease had James not been in the picture — but he forced just enough of an adjustment to buy the time James needed to close the gap and track the ball. From there, James put his athleticism on full display, floating in the air and blocking a shot with his left hand.

It’s best to think of those chasedown blocks as a process of elimination. When Curry receives the ball at half court on this possession, there isn’t a defender standing between him and the basket. It gives Curry an opportunity to finish in whichever way he chooses, whether it’s with his right hand on the right side, his left hand on the left side or with a reverse layup.

The hustle from the much taller Iman Shumpert, however, forces Curry to make a decision when he gets into the paint. As many guards choose to do when they find themselves in those situations, Curry slow downs and uses his body to shield off Shumpert so he can finish at the basket with his strong hand.

It’s not a bad decision by Curry, but it makes it a much easier read for James because he knows Curry can no longer finish on the left side of the basket with his left hand. It also rules out the possibility of a reverse layup. The only way Curry can realistically score is by going up on the right side of the basket with his right hand, which the 6-foot-8 and uber-athletic James has covered.

The tracking part is important because it helps keep the element of surprise. Knowing that one of his teammates will delay the opponent’s shot allows James to keep his distance. It also takes the attention away from him because the offensive player is usually focused entirely on the defender next to them, not James trailing behind. James will even deliberately slow down sometimes to make sure he is in their blindspot before exploding to the basket for a chasedown block.

Next: The Encyclopedia of Modern Moves

James wouldn’t be able to do that, of course, without the superhero element. Something else he mentioned on the Open Run podcast about his iconic chasedown block in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals is that he remembered Iguodala shooting a reverse layup earlier in the fourth quarter when Richard Jefferson fouled him in transition. It’s why James went up for the block with both hands — so that he was prepared to block it on the right side and left side of the basket.

It must be nice being that athletic.