LeBron James Says He Tried to Avoid Injury During Jalen Slawson Chase-Down Block in 76ers-Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James made a business decision when he was blocked from behind by Indiana Pacers forward Jalen Slawson earlier this season.

"You're never worried about stepping on somebody when you're younger or if it was multiple bodies in the lane," he said at the 31:57 mark in Tuesday's episode of his Mind the Game podcast.

James said your mindset changes "as you get a little older, or you get a lot older in my case." He cited the Slawson block as an example.

The 22-time All-star was aware of Slawson "hauling ass to get back on defense." Because of that, he settled for a layup instead of a dunk because that minimized the risk of a painful collision.

Chase-down blocks have become a LeBron trademark, but he was on the receiving end of one in Philly's 114-109 win over the Pacers on Oct. 28. On a breakaway in the second quarter, he got his layup attempt swatted away by Slawson.

The refs originally ruled it a foul before overturning the call after a video review.

An NBA player inevitably won't be able to run as fast or jump as high as he gets deeper into his 30s, or 40s in the case of James. The bigger reason the league's highfliers ground their game is that the landings become more painful.

James could've had two or even three points if he gets fouled in the process of throwing down a dunk on Slawson. Leaving that opportunity on the table was worth it avoid potentially costly contact.