King James Gospel
Fansided

LeBron James Sets Career-Highs

By Quenton S. Albertie

Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) passes against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) passes against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) grabs a rebound during the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) grabs a rebound during the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Rebounds Per Game

LeBron James also set a career-high in rebounds per game. This season he averaged 8.6 rebounds per game, which is a nice uptick from his average of 6.0 rebounds per game in 2014-2015 and 7.4 rebounds per game in 2015-2016. It’s a bit higher than his previous career-high of 8.0 rebounds per game, which he set in 2012-2013 with the Miami Heat.

James, who is 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds is one of the strongest and most aggressive players in the game, especially in the paint. It’s interesting that James didn’t seem to play in the post as much this season as he had in recent years yet came away with more rebounds than ever.

Defensive Rebounds

Where James really boosted his rebounding efforts was on the defensive end and closing out defensive possessions. Most up the surge seemed to coincide with him taking a personal challenge to be the guy who cleans the glass.

He averaged 7.3 defensive rebounds this season but with Kevin Love missing in action for about a month (February 14th to March 14th), James averaged 11.2 rebounds per game and 9.9 defensive rebounds per game in that span. After James questioned the Cleveland Cavaliers toughness following a loss to the Denver Nuggets, James averaged 10.6 rebounds per game and 8.6 defensive rebounds per game. When Tristan Thompson missed three games at the end of the season, James averaged 11.3 rebounds per game and 9.3 defensive rebounds per game.