James is a very hard-working player. His shooting ability in the early stages of his career was a disadvantage, but later he practiced it.

On May 23, LeBron James' name has long become one of the most dazzling symbols in basketball history. From entering the NBA as the "Son of Chosen" in 2003 to the brilliant achievements of more than 20 years of career, this son of Akron interprets what "God rewards hard work" with his almost paranoid efforts. What is particularly amazing is that he is not an athlete who wins by relying on his talent - the projection shortcomings that were criticized in the early days were eventually transformed into deadly weapons through hard training day after day. This transformation of forging weaknesses into killing weapons is the most vivid footnote in his great career.

**Photting dilemma in his youth**

James, who had just entered the league, was like an armored vehicle rushing around. In the 2003-04 season, his three-point shooting percentage was only 29%, and he frequently made shots from mid-range shots. Chris Jenter, who was then the Cavaliers assistant coach, once recalled: "After training, only him and the basket are left in the arena, we have to turn off the power to force him to leave." The defeat against the Spurs in the 2007 Finals completely exposed his shortcomings - the opponent's defense strategy of emptiing him from two meters away became a humiliation at the basketball textbook level. Mike Budenholzer, then assistant coach of the Spurs, said bluntly: "We bet that he couldn't make a shot, and this was indeed the right choice at that time." The turning point of forging weapons began at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The day and night with top scorers such as Kobe and Ray Allen made James realize the urgency of technological innovation. Former Heat shooting coach David Aldridge revealed: "He asked me to design a special training plan at 4 a.m., with 500 catches and jump shots a day being the basic lesson." The 2012-13 season witnessed a qualitative change - the three-point shooting percentage soared to 40.6%. The sixth game against the Spurs against the playoffs against the Spurs was the most perfect response to the shame of the past. ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton pointed out through data: "His effective shooting percentage increased by 13.2% after 2010, which is equivalent to jumping from the bottom of the league to the top 20%.

**The strategic value of technological evolution**

This transformation completely unleashed James' dominance on the court. In the finals of the 2016 Finals, G7 faced Curry's key mid-range shot. In 2020, Bubble Park scored 7 three-pointers in a single game against the Rockets. Behind these highlight moments is the accumulation of more than 150,000 shooting trainings in the offseason each year. Lakers trainer Mike Mancias showed a set of shocking data: "After the age of 34, his shooting point was raised by 5 inches, which is a scientific adjustment to the age of age." Modern basketball analysts generally believe that it is the evolution of shooting ability that allows him to seamlessly adapt to any system - from the "one-star shot" of the Cavaliers in the early days to the "space basketball" of the Heat, and then to the "field control master" of the Lakers era, the continuous expansion of the technology package makes the opponent never limit him with a single strategy.

**The craftsman spirit that transcends talent**

When people marvel at his honor as 4MVP+4FMVP+ historical scoring champion, they often ignore the more precious qualities: the persistence of turning "enough" into "excellent". Former teammate Kevin Love described this scenario: "At 2 a.m. after the away game, he would practice 100 bottom corner three-pointers in a strange stadium before allowing himself to sleep." This kind of nearly obsessive-compulsive diligence reached its peak in the 2018 series against the Raptors - James, who was 34, destroyed his opponent with a 57.4% mid-range shooting percentage. Raptors coach Devin Casey smiled bitterly after the game: "We have studied all his videos, but no one can explain why he can still improve at this age."

Looking back in 2025, James' story has long surpassed basketball. The veteran, over 40, still maintains the discipline of arriving at the training hall as young players become addicted to social media showing off training clips. As he himself said: "Greatness is not an accidental outbreak, but a accumulation of repeated choices every day." From being emptied to one of the most comprehensive scorers in history, LeBron James has proved with his 20 years of craftsman spirit: talent determines the starting point, and hard work determines the height. Those baskets that witnessed his training at four in the morning may explain what it is "real" than all trophys.