“The level of respect that LeBron wants received is no longer there” - Shannon Sharpe on LeBron James’ comments on not getting more free throws 

LeBron James has finished up his 19th season in the NBA, averaging over 30 points for the second time in his career, despite having one of his career's lowest free throw attempts.

Shannon Sharpe of Fox Sports believes that his free throw attempts are so low because the respect he should be getting from referees is no longer there.

In the Fox Sports debate show titled “UNDISPUTED: Skip and Shannon,” they often discuss James and his career. Their show was also released as a podcast, and at the 1:42:00 mark, Shannon disused James's recent comments about needing to trick the referees into believing that he is getting fouled:

“I believe LeBron James is gonna be able to hold it together for at least another two years. But he realizes there are some points that he could have gotten had they'd been had he been given the calls like some of these other guys are getting it. He said he said in the exit interviews. There was once upon a time, in his pre-Miami days in which he got called in, so I do believe that the level of respect that LeBron wants received is no longer there.”

There is something to it that James has gotten fewer and fewer calls as his career has carried on. Three of the four lowest free throw attempts seasons of his career have come in three of his four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. In his 11 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averred 8.2 free throws per game. With the Miami Heat, he averaged 7.8, but with the Lakers, he has averaged 6.2.

It is a little strange that, based on James’s status within the NBA, his free throw attempts have dipped as he has gotten older.

A reason why LeBron James's free throw attempts may have dipped

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James

Early on in his career, LeBron James would get a lot of his calls due to the physical nature of how he played the game. Even though James still plays a physical game, James has followed that path with the growth of the three-point shot.

Three of the four lowest free throw attempts per game seasons in James’s career all have one thing in common, which is that he has averaged over six three-point attempts per game in all those seasons. The fourth season was his rookie season when he was getting used to life in the NBA.

On top of that, James is one of the biggest and strongest players in the NBA, so what would knock an average NBA player over might not have the same effect on him. This makes it a little harder for James to get the calls he wants, just because it is harder to see the effect of the action.