LeBron James Pinpoints Underlying Factor Behind NBA's Offensive Rebounding Surge

Now in his 23rd NBA season, LeBron James has witnessed the league evolve in countless ways as styles and strategies shift. On Wednesday, he pointed to a key factor that has fueled the rise in offensive rebounds across the NBA.

During Tuesday's episode of the 'Mind the Game' podcast, Bron and co-host Steve Nash discussed the surge in offensive rebounds.

"I didn’t notice the numbers, but you can definitely see more teams crashing the boards to get extra possessions," James said (Timestamp: 15:46). "I think it’s because of how many threes are being taken now. With that many long shots, you’re going to get a lot of long rebounds and a lot of misses."

Continuing on the topic, James noted how rebounding has changed in recent years as big men are no longer the only ones battling for loose balls.

"You can feel it on the court. If you’re not checking your man when the shot goes up, you’re in trouble," James continued. "It used to be just the bigs, maybe a few forwards, going after those boards. Now you’ve got point guards flying in, shooting guards crashing too. Everybody is going after them."

The four-time NBA champion shared his perspective after Nash pointed out the jump in offensive rebounding across the league.

The two-time MVP noted that teams used to grab about 22 percent of their rebounds in the opponent’s paint, but that number has climbed, with this season’s offensive rebounding rate rising to 27 percent.

With teams relying more heavily on three-point shooting, that number is likely to keep climbing in the seasons ahead.

LeBron James praises Austin Reaves’ growth and his ability to handle a larger role

The LA Lakers have made a bright start to their season, sitting in second place with a 17-6 record at the time of writing. Their strong start comes despite LeBron James missing the early part of the season, with Austin Reaves stepping up as a reliable leader.

James praised Reaves on Tuesday, highlighting his growth and ability to handle a larger role.

"I just think AR has picked up exactly where he left off," James said (Timestamp: 20:58). "The confidence of knowing his role is going to keep expanding, more usage, more responsibility. He’s not just one of the guys anymore; he’s one of the guys on our team, and he wants that responsibility."

Austin Reaves is enjoying his best career in Lakers colors, averaging 28.4 points and 6.7 assists per game.