LeBron James: 6 Things Miami Heat Star Can Learn from NBA Great Hakeem Olajuwon

LeBron James worked with Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston during the NBA offseason to increase his presence in the post.

According to ESPN, James is "very optimistic" that there will be a season despite little progress on the labor front, and he vows to be an even better player than he's shown previously when the action picks back up.

We have seen Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard work with "The Dream" as well, and it appears that James is exploring all of his options in an effort to achieve a longstanding legacy in the league.

6. Dominate the Game

Throughout the NBA Finals, the collective and overwhelming criticism of LeBron James' play was that he was constantly deferring to Dwyane Wade.

Seeing as how Wade was white-hot throughout the series, it certainly wasn't the wrong thing to do, but his mental disengagement from the game is what struck me as especially alarming.

James can't afford to show up for just stretches of the game anymore with so much being expected of him and the superteam that he plays on.

No matter how his teammates are playing, James has to assert himself as top dog and dominate the game when it matters most.

And that time comes when the game is on the line.

5. Motivation to Be Great

It's one thing to be really, really good, but it's an entirely different echelon to be considered great.

The term elite is one that is tossed around far too often in professional sports, and although James certainly possesses a skill set that can be labeled as such, he can't be considered among the truly great legends until he wins multiple times on the game's biggest stage.

Despite the "Chosen 1" tattoo on his back and the hype that has surrounded him since he came out of high school, James' work with Olajuwon signifies that he may finally be ready to take the first step toward the greatness that he so desperately seeks to achieve.

James can have a long-winded list of season-single accolades and record marks in the regular season, but until he really needs to translate that to the postseason where legends are made, not broken.

4. Fundamentals

James has been so dominant with his freakish athleticism and natural skills since entering the NBA that he hasn't had to focus too much on "the little things."

However, James' predictable post moves will force him to take his footwork and fundamentals to the next level.

The knock on the versatile forward has been that his footwork has been deemed a work in progress, and if he's going to really achieve his goal of becoming a better basketball player, it's going to have to start with improving his fundamentals down low.

Olajuwon threw off his opponents with a myriad of moves down low that were next to impossible to predict, and James will hope to learn a thing or three about how to achieve exactly that.

3. Offensive Post Game

Similar to his fundamentals, James' offensive moves down low have become somewhat predicated around the same basic set of moves.

Something is going to have to give if he hopes to improve his game, as he simply can't rely on what he's familiar with as most of his opponents have already firmly figured it out.

He has shown the ability to be a good passer from the low post, and with his impressive court vision, that doesn't really come as much of a surprise.

Having said that, James needs to learn how to create a better shot of his own when working out of the post if he's going to enjoy success in the same way that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan did late in their careers when some of their athleticism was sapped by age.

There's no doubting James' superior athleticism, but he's going to need to bank on far more than just that to achieve the level of greatness he's striving toward.

2. Accept Constructive Criticism

James couldn't have picked a worse time to deliver one of his more memorable press conferences following his team's defeat in the finals.

There is a long list of things that James does very well already, but one of the key elements that he needs to work on moving forward is not something related to his on-court play.

After expressing an unwillingness to accept some suggestions with an open mind in the past, James is going to need to broaden his horizons and accept the constructive criticism that may come his way.

The biggest element for James will be his ability to articulate himself more clearly to the media and not bite when prompted with questions and inquiries designed to get underneath his skin.

1. Improved Work Ethic

Often times, we see people drawing the LeBron vs. Kobe comparison along the lines of one working harder than the other.

And while that may or may not be true, James' first step toward an improved work ethic has been taken by pursuing to become a better player under the tutelage of Olajuwon.

Bryant has worked with the famed center in the past, and he's seen an improvement in his low post game (and overall attack) as a direct result.

James has seemingly relied on a lot of innate talent to elevate him to where he currently stands in his career, but if he wants to clear the hurdle and get over the hump at age 26, his work ethic has to border insanity.

Nothing comes easily to anybody no matter how much talent they possess, and we've seen that with James and his unsuccessful journey to secure a championship thus far.

But if and when he combines his natural skill with a psychotic approach to his craft, he could very well drop jaws around the league in a very big way.