LeBron James once named the smartest teammate he has rubbed shoulders with off the basketball court.
James is one of the NBA’s legends thanks to his illustrious playing career, which is still going at the age of 40 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
James is a four-time NBA champions and represented the Cleveland Cavaliers across two spells and the Miami Heat, before joining the Lakers in 2018.
He has also been named the NBA Finals MVP on four occasions, and the NBA’s overall MVP four times.
James recently became the first player in NBA history to have multiple 40+ point games aged 40 and above.
James won his first two NBA Championships when he was with the Miami Heat in 2012 ans 2013, before adding his third during his second spell back at the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, with his fourth coming with the Lakers in 2020.
The 40-year-old also has three Olympic gold medals to his name thanks to being part of the victorious American men’s basketball squad at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Paris 2024.
But back in 2012, James mentioned the most intelligent teammate he had shared a dressing room with, which came during his time with the Heat and is a player all turned to when they needed a question answered.
And that man is Shane Battier, who was at the Heat between 2011 and 2014 towards the end of his playing careers and won two NBA Championships alongside James.
He began his career at the Memphis Grizzlies before heading to the Houston Rockets in 2006, returned to the Grizzlies for a season in 2011 and ended his playing days at the Heat, retiring in 2014.
And James was in no doubt that Battier was the smartest teammate in his career with the intellectual ability he has.
He told Fox Sports via Slam Online: “He’s probably the No. 1 smartest basketball player and person I’ve been around. He knows everything.”
The man himself was unsure if he merited the label of the most intelligent player in the NBA at that time, but he believed he was clever.
He said: “Intelligence is an esoteric measurement. I don’t know. I’m smart, but I don’t know about the smartest.”
