HOUSTON — As LeBron James sat in front of his locker late Wednesday, he had ice packs wrapped around his right elbow and both knees while his feet soaked in a bucket of ice. He insisted he felt every bit of his age, 41 years and 78 days old.
“Look at me right now,” James said after starring in a 124-116 road victory over the Houston Rockets that matched the Los Angeles Lakers‘ winning streak to a season-best seven games. “Right now, I feel like s—. But in the game, I felt pretty good. Before the game, I didn’t feel that great. I mean, I was yawning and tired and telling myself, I was literally just like talking to myself like, ‘Come on, here we go. Let’s figure it out. Let’s get through it.’
“But I felt pretty good in the game. I’m happy I’m able to make a few plays to help our team win.”
Six of those plays during James’ 30-point performance on 13-of-14 shooting were dunks.
“That’s really impressive,” said Lakers star Luka Doncic, who had another sensational outing with 40 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. “It’s insane.”
According to ESPN Research, James hadn’t had that many dunks in a game since March 9, 2017. James threw down three alley-oops, matching his most in any game during his legendary 23-year career.
The first of those alley-oops was an errant lob from guard Marcus Smart to James on a back cut, a pass that appeared to be sailing into the baseline seats. But James soared to catch the pass and slam it home, a spectacular highlight for any player regardless of age.
“The fact that he’s 41, he’s still as athletic or more athletic than about 95% of the league — still — and he’s probably, I think everybody would agree, has lost a little athleticism,” said Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had 14 points and eight assists. “It’s just insane to think [about]. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.”
James’ display of athletic prowess in Wednesday’s win was on the extreme end of the spectrum, but it wasn’t necessarily shocking. According to NBA Advanced Stats, he entered the night second in the league in fast-break points (279) behind speedy Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey. James has 77 dunks in 48 games, including three in Monday’s win over the Rockets.
“I’m not surprised anymore,” said Kevin Durant, the Rockets’ 37-year-old superstar who had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the loss. “I mean, he’s a freak athlete. He’s a generational athlete. He cares and loves the game. Cares about his body. This is what he does. He’s built for this, you know what I’m saying? Since he was a kid.
“I think he could play until he’s 45 years old. I don’t know if he wants to be around that long, but I think he could play for another four to five more years, to be honest. And so yeah, it’s not a surprise anymore. I mean, his age, he is 41, but he looks great out there.”
James became the first Laker to score at least 30 points on 90% shooting since Shaquille O’Neal in March 2003. He became the oldest player in NBA history to accomplish that feat, a distinction previously owned by former Portland Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis, who was 36 years and 108 days old when he scored 32 points on 11-of-12 shooting.
James’ lone miss came on a drive early in the fourth quarter. Houston’s Tari Eason was credited with a block, although James raised his arms and complained to the ref after falling to the ground.
“The one shot he missed, he was trying to foul bait,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick quipped.
Redick is also 41 years old, about six months older than James, and retired as a player in 2021 after a 15-year career. He joked that he feels like a “loser” seeing James’ explosiveness at his age on a regular basis.
“I can touch the rim still,” Redick said. “I can’t jump for three days after it, but I’ve got one jump in me.
“Just the preparation that he puts into his body over and over and over again — that to me is like the ultimate sign of competitive stamina. He just holds on to it every single day and he gets ready to ring the bell.”
The Lakers are relying on James less than ever and getting extraordinary results from the all-time leading scorer accepting his role as the team’s third offensive option behind Doncic and Reaves. James had 15 or fewer field goal attempts in his past eight games, twice as long as any previous streak in his career with that few shots. James is averaging 20.8 points on 61.5% shooting in that stretch, and the Lakers have won seven of the eight games.
“Part of the evolution of him on this team, and particularly in this stretch, has just been his patience,” Redick said. “His patience, knowing he’s going to get the ball and he’s going to have transition opportunities, and he’s going to have plays called for him, and he’s going to play off ball and get a corner 3 the first play of the game. He’s going to have those opportunities, and he’s played really patiently.”
James’ last bucket in Wednesday’s win, which strengthened the 44-25 Lakers’ grip on the third seed in the Western Conference, was evidence of the chemistry developing between Doncic and him. Doncic split two defenders on a pick-and-roll to drive down the middle of the floor, and James executed a perfectly timed cut from the weakside corner. Doncic drew a crowd in the paint and flipped a lob to James, who finished with two hands, a dagger that put the Lakers up six with 1:22 remaining.
Doncic celebrated by shuffling sideways up the court, smiling and staring down a courtside fan who had engaged him in trash talk throughout the game.
“Winning’s fun, so just the way we play I think is a lot of fun,” Doncic said. “That’s what we do. We win and we have a good time.”
