LeBron James to critics who say he doesn't have a 'bag' as Lakers contract decision looms

LeBron James has had a lot to say in recent conversations with Steve Nash and Luka Doncic

When LeBron James retires he will hold the record for most points scored in NBA history, will have at least four NBA championships, four MVP trophies, three Olympic gold medals as well as a bronze, the most All-NBA selections in league history, the list goes on and on. He is the picture for longevity in the NBA, a career that we will very likely never see again.

All of these accolades, and yet James isn't immune to critical social media discourse that greatly underestimates his talent and value. While speaking with Steve Nash and Luka Doncic on an episode of the Mind the Game podcast, James talked about how this younger generation of basketball players are too focused on having a "bag." Nash clarified it as a "bag of tricks" when it comes to dribbling, think of someone like Kyrie Irving who has perhaps the best handle in league history and has a variety of creative dribbling combinations, making him a difficult guy to defend. Irving has one of the best bags ever. 

But James thinks too many young players coming up through the AAU ranks are focusing on that, while letting more important aspects of game fall to the wayside.

"When I was growing up they weren't talking about it," James said. "The least amount of dribbles where you need to get to is how I grew up. Michael Jordan wasn't out there dribbling a thousand times. As great of a handle as Isaiah Thomas had, Isaiah would get to his spot and raise. All these guys I grew up watching, Grant Hill ... Kevin Garnett, it's good footwork, get over the top. If I'm bigger than you and I get you on my shoulder, my hip, I'm gonna use my size. I see it all the time, I'll be on social media, and it's like 'LeBron has no bag.' LeBron has no bag and I'm sitting here with 50 billion points."

Anyone arguing that James has no bag didn't watch him just bully guys with his size, strength and athleticism for the better part of two decades. Even at 40 years of age now, James is still capable of going straight through guys to get easy buckets. Having a "bag" was never part of his game, and it doesn't take away all the accolades attached to his name. And to James' point, the conversation about having a "bag" is something that is part of this newer generation, and we see it seep into today's game at the grassroots level.

"Just play the game the right way, and I hope that our younger generation don't get swamped by saying, 'Okay I need a bag,'" James said. "Work on your game, know what you're gonna be good at in order to help the team, and prove the next year to be a better player. ...There's only going to be three guys maximum that's going to be handling the ball anyways, we don't need you to have a bag. ...You can make $200 million in the NBA if you defend and shoot a corner 3-pointer."

The NBA is always looking for extra 3-and-D players, and there's always a short supply of those archetypes because either prior getting to the NBA they were the No. 1 guy on whatever college team they played on, or they didn't focus on those areas of their game. But like James said, you can have a very long, lucrative career in the league if you defend and make 3s.

Dončić chimed in to note that it's also important for guys to know their roles and to not do too much that could mess with the flow of the team.

"Know what you do good, and do that," Dončić said. "Don't do something that you're not good at, it's not going to help."