The Lakers arrived in Portland at 3 a.m. on Thursday after losing in Los Angeles to Charlotte (97-100) and the mood of the team was very touched by that painful defeat and the physical problems of its two stars. Without Luka Doncic, who relapsed from his left calf injury, and with the doubt of LeBron James, who was dragging a foot injury and had a sore left ankle.
The outlook could not have been more daunting. What no one expected, not even the Los Angeles coach, JJ Redick, was that LeBron would almost miraculously overcome his physical problems to lead them to victory over the Blazers (102-110) with 40 points (10/16 t2, 4/8 t3 and 8/8 tl), 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 36 minutes.
Second 40-point game since turning 40
In this way, the Lakers star became the first player in NBA history to score more than 40 points in a game after turning 40 (he did so on December 30). The first was on February 7 in the win against the Warriors (120-112) with another stellar game: 42 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists.
Against the Blazers, in the 1,542nd regular season game of his career, he surpassed Vince Carter and moved up to third place on the all-time games played list. The passage of time does not seem to affect him, it is as if he had made a pact with the devil. In fact, in the eight games he has played since he turned 40 years old 22 days ago, James is averaging almost a triple-double: 26 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
He’s a billionaire and he’s playing back-to-back nights at 40 years old after 22 seasons in the league with all the records and all the accolades… he sets the standard for how this craft should be approached
And against the Blazers, he left everyone speechless, including his coach JJ Redick, who couldn’t believe what he had just seen: “Really LeBron defies everything that is normal,” Redick said. “And not just the physical feats and the plays. It’s his mentality… He’s a billionaire and he’s playing two nights in a row at 40 years old after 22 seasons in the league with all the records and all the accolades. It’s amazing to coach him, he sets the standard for how you’re supposed to approach this craft.”
I still love the game, and I still have a lot to give to the game, to my teammates and to this league while I’m here… I don’t have much time left
The media asked LeBron himself about his motivation for his body to withstand the demanding NBA schedule when he has already achieved everything imaginable in his career. And he did not hesitate to respond: “I still love the game, and I still have a lot to give to the game, to my teammates and to this league while I’m here,” he said. “I don’t have much time left. So, while I’m here, I’ll try to give what I have when I’m on the court.”
Teaching his son Bronny
And he added another reason no less important to stay motivated at 40 years old, to pass on that teaching and his values to his son Bronny James, with whom he shares a locker room this year: “So why? It’s the love of the game and because now I have the opportunity to show my son how to be a professional in this league. And being with him every day is a pleasure.”
Even so, it was not a perfect night for James, who somewhat blurred his fantastic statistics with 11 turnovers. It is paradoxical that since 2020 only two NBA players have recorded a game with 35 or more points and 10 or more turnovers. One was LeBron, after this game, and the other… his current teammate Luka Doncic.
This negative statistic also highlights the Lakers star’s spirit of self-improvement, as he said: “The best way to compete in this league is to play hard. You can win a lot of games if you’re able to play hard. You can make up for a lot of mistakes. We had 24 turnovers that cost us 31 points. And I had half of them, but it definitely makes up for it when you’re able to counteract a turnover and play hard. That’s going to help us win a lot of games.”
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