BALLHANDLING
This was considered a weakness for James when he entered the league, but he’s already made dramatic improvement with the ball. He’s especially adept at dribbling on the move or on the break.

INTERACTIVE Comparing LeBron James to the greats Introduction Scoring Rebounding Passing Ballhandling Defense Intangibles

He isn’t in Drexler’s class as a dribbler yet, and isn’t as smart with the ball as Havlicek. Of course, he’s young enough to catch up to all the great handlers … except Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

Ballhandling was always an underrated part of Jordan’s game. He could handle it with either hand, had a fearless cross-over dribble and because of the strength he gained later in his career, it was hard to take the ball away from him.

Johnson seemed to have the ball attached to his hands as he bounded around the court. He wasn’t necessarily flashy with the dribble — other than keeping it higher than many coaches might teach — but it always got him where he needed to go. The ball was always in Magic’s hands late, and for good reason. James surely will have the ball in big spots late himself and has shown he can handle the heat.

NEXT: LEBRON'S DEFENSE

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