Doc Rivers: LeBron James 'Does Everything Better Than He Did 5 Years Ago'

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has been around the NBA for a long time, so he's a good judge of LeBron James' development over the years.

To Rivers, the King has only gotten better.

'He does everything better than he did five years ago when he supposedly was in his prime," Rivers told reporters Wednesday. "He'll go down as one of the greatest passers to ever play the game." 

Through 18 games this season, James has tallied 25.2 points on 49.7 percent shooting from the field and a career-best 41.2 percent from three, 7.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. He's putting up those absurd numbers in a career-low 32.7 minutes per game, and he's helped guide the Lakers to an NBA-best 14-4 record.

The comment came ahead of the first game of the season between the Lakers and Sixers, and Rivers also had praise for the rest of the team ahead of Wednesday's matchup.

Rivers told reporters that he believed this year's Lakers squad—which added Dennis Schroder, Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell this offseason—is "better than last year." Considering last year's Lakers won the NBA championship, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the league.

The two first-place teams in their respective conferences tip off in Philadelphia on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.