November 06, 2026
Rick Osentoski/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
LeBron James' basketball IQ is stuff of legend.
CLEVELAND – Dean Wade raved about LeBron James' feel for the game when speaking with reporters at the Sixers' pregame shootaround Friday morning at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
"His IQ is otherworldly. I've never met a person that has a higher basketball IQ than him," Wade said. "...It's shocking how he can sniff out [an opposing team's] play before they even get set. It's unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. He's just an unbelievable teammate and just an unselfish player. The way he passes the ball, the things he sees on the court, is unbelievable. It really is like - it doesn't feel real."
Wade said that on opening night at Madison Square Garden – a game he watched in street clothes due to an ankle injury – he watched James recognize and call out a play the New York Knicks were running before the ball had even been thrown in bounds.
"They came out of the timeout, he was standing there, they lined up," Wade said. "As soon as they lined up, he was like, 'Oh, it's back-side, it's back-side!' And they ran the play, he knew, he called out every action of the play. And that was his first game. It was crazy."
Wade, of course, was very familiar with James' basketball acumen from afar. But being around it on a daily basis has altered his perspective.
"I like the questions he asks, especially in walkthroughs and stuff," Wade said. "[He notices] things that happen in games that you don't really think of when you're watching film and stuff like that. So his basketball IQ is super high. I knew he was a super smart, intelligent person. But being on his side, seeing everything that goes into it outside of actual games, it's just pretty incredible."
Friday's game between the Sixers and Cavaliers, an NBA Cup Group Play contest, will be emotional for James and Wade. Wade spent the first seven years of his NBA career in Cleveland, ascending from second-round afterthought to respected two-way role player. James brings plenty of buzz with him to the city so close to his hometown of Akron. And after bringing the 2026 NBA title to Cleveland, even another free-agency punch in the gut will not turn Cavaliers fans against the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
"In my seven years, any time LeBron came back it was just a madhouse," Wade said. "It's crazy. The fans are awesome. So I expect that to be what tonight's going to be like. Super loud. A lot of energy. I think it's going to be a fun night."
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