LeBron James knows a thing or two about developing basketball skills.

Not only have NBA fans watched James build on his own game throughout his unmatched career in the NBA, we have also seen him help teammates, and yes, family members, reach their highest basketball potential through teaching and practice.

But according to James, one of the most important aspects of his development as a young player was not the structure, but a relative lack of it. Speaking on his Mind the Game podcast, James explained that his greatest teacher growing up was just experience playing against his buddies.

“I didn’t have a ‘basketball trainer’ until my second, third, maybe fourth year in the NBA,” James said. “My basketball training was just being on the court. Let’s just go hoop. Five on five, two on two, three on three.”

James explained that some of his early lessons in shot creation came from games of 21 with his buddies, where it was every man for himself, and he’d be up against not just one defender, but a group of them.

“It’s one man for himself. You can be guarded by all of your friends,” James explained. “That’s how a lot of creation started with me—being able to dribble around three or four guys, going behind the back, getting physical with your friends. It definitely helped me out a lot.”

While James is now well known for the hyper focus he puts on his body, sustained health, and training, it’s clear that he believes that there is plenty to be learned, especially for young players looking to develop NBA skills, from just playing around on the court with your friends.

I’m sure the kids playing 21 against LeBron James back in the day learned plenty of lessons as well—though they might have been starkly different than the ones James took away.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Offers Surprising Perspective on Youth Basketball Development.

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