LeBron James: Why the Heat's Star Is Having the Most Efficient Season in History

LeBron James is having the best season in NBA history based on his Player Efficiency Rating. His PER of 33.0 is not only the best by any player in the NBA this year, but it's the best by any player ever. The next best PER in NBA history is Wilt Chamberlain's 31.84 from the 1963 season. 

While James has always been a great player who produces huge numbers, even he has never produced at this level before. So what is it that makes him so much better? 

Essentially, it comes down to two things: post and transition. His improvement in these two areas of the game has made him a more efficient scorer, a better offensive rebounder and a better passer—all of which combine to make him an incredibly efficient player. 

This is an observation based upon both statistical analysis and the eye test. Going through each, we'll look at all three aspects of his game through both barometers to see how James is in the midst of one of the most efficient seasons in NBA history. 

Scoring

Let's begin with the improved post play and look at the video of the basic low-post move that James has added to his arsenal. James can use this move on either side of the rim and score with either hand, although he's not quite as adept with his left. 

Next, let's establish just how much better of a post player James is and that it's not just a bunch of talk about what he worked on in the offseason. Based on data from Synergy, this year, James has posted up 15 percent of the time. Last year, he posted up just 8.1 percent of the time. That means he's posting up nearly twice as often this year than last.

In reality, he's at least statistically slightly less effective posting up. Last year, he averaged 1.04 points per play on post ups, while this year, he's "just" at 1.03, but that's a nominal difference. Either way, it's still a very efficient scoring rate. The most important thing is that he's doing a lot more of it. 

As a result, his overall points per play have gone up. Because he's running more post plays, he's running fewer pick-and-rolls and isolation plays. Last year, those combined for 44 percent of all his plays, and he averaged about .95 points per play in those situations. His overall scoring average was 1.01 points per play.

This year, those combine for just 35.8 percent of the plays he runs, and he scores .96 points per play on them. Overall, he's averaging 1.09 points per play. 

Last year, he shot .736 at the rim. This year, he's shooting an NBA-best .794 around the rim, an astronomical figure. Additionally, because he's playing in the post more, he's taking less shots from three and the long-two area. 

Last year, 56.2 percent of his shots came from 16 feet out. This year, just 41.2 percent of his shots are coming from that range.

In other words, because of his post game, he's scoring more on higher-percentage shots and taking fewer lower-percentage shots. His usage percentage is roughly the same—31.7 percent this year to 31.5 percent last year. Also, his field-goal attempts are down.

His boost in PER is a boost in efficiency, not a boost in usage. And the predominant reason for that is he is scoring at a much higher rate; however, there's a little bit more to it than that. He's also a better offensive rebounder.

Rebounding 

As a result of his being in the post more, he's closer to the rim when his teammates are taking a shot, and he is able to use his tremendous rebounding ability on the offensive end. His offensive rebounding is up from 1.0 to 1.5 this year. 

Last year, 2.8 percent of his attempts came off of offensive rebounds. This year, 3.6 percent of his points have come off of offensive rebounds. That's a 35 percent increase in field goals off of offensive rebounds.

Notice in the screen cap below that because he was in the post, he was able to get inside position and get the offensive rebound, which he follows up with the putback.

Passing

The next, less intuitive thing is that his passing has gotten better. This isn't as obvious when you look at his straight-forward assist numbers, but when you look at where those assists are going, it's apparent that he's helping the Heat to be a more efficient offense. First, let's look at some screen caps here to show how he is using his post game to work out an inside-out game to help his teammates be better players. 

In the first cap, look where James is pointing. He's looking at Mario Chalmers and telling him to run over to the right elbow. 

Now, James runs down behind Chalmers to the left post. Notice how the Lakers collapse around him. As the Lakers collapse to defend against James in the post, everyone is around him, and no one is keeping track of Chalmers, who drifts back behind the three-point line. 

Now, James, having set this entire business up in the first place, kicks the ball out from the post to Chalmers, who has enough time to see how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop before he launches the three. Notice how no one is even on his side of the lane. 

Just an editorial note on this point: LeBron James does not get nearly enough credit for his basketball IQ. 

When you look at where James' assists are going, it's pretty compelling. The two most efficient places for a player to score on the court are at the rim or behind the three-point line. The least efficient is the 16-to-23-foot range. 

Last year, 57 percent of his assists went to those two areas, as opposed to 64.8 percent this year. His overall assist numbers are slightly down, by .3 per game, but that's mostly a product of a reduction in playing time. His assists per 36 minutes are the same. What's important here is that it's taking his teammates fewer shots to convert those assists because he is distributing the ball to them in places where they can score more efficiently.

A large part of the reason for this is a result of where he's passing the ball from. He's not passing into the midrange area from the perimeter as much. Now, he's passing out of the high post and into either the paint or out to the three-point line.  

Transition

We may have reviewed how his post game makes him a better scorer, rebounder and passer, and how that accounts largely for his boost in productivity, but that's not the whole enchilada.  Another big part of the reason for his success is his improved transition game. 

Last year, he scored 1.26 points per play in transition, while this year, he's scoring a ridiculous 1.43 points per play in transition. This has a lot to do with him looking more to finish in transition instead of passing it off, and in part, it's a result of his increase in steals and blocks, which he turns into transition points. 

This year, he's averaging 2.5 field goals in transition per game compared to last year, when he scored 2.4. What also plays into this is he's averaging .4 combined points-plus-blocks per game more than last year.

Really, this is closer to "no duh" than rocket science. The reason that James is so much more efficient this year is that he's taking and making more high-percentage shots, and taking and missing fewer low-percentage shots. 

This is not merely the product of a system, but a product of an offseason of determination to improve a particular aspect of his game. Give credit where it is due. He's not just having the best season ever because he's an athletic specimen we've never seen the likes of before. He's having it because of the same kind of hard work and determination for which the likes of Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose receive credit. 

The proof, as they, is in the pudding. Or maybe in this case, the proof is in the putting the ball in the hoop. 

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Kelly Scaletta is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a huge Chicago Bulls fan who is an even bigger basketball fan who can still appreciate the talents of a once-in-a-lifetime talent like LeBron James.