Lebron James Network

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James sprinted down the court in the first quarter Tuesday, now a 41-year-old freight train barreling down the tracks toward the rim closest to the Los Angeles Lakers' bench. He caught the pass from Marcus Smart halfway between midcourt and the 3-point line, dribbled once and changed direction from the right side of the hoop to the left, training his eyes on the rim before softly laying up the ball off the backboard and through the hoop. As he has forever, James showed off the divinely given combination of size and speed with his tirelessly earned skills. That combination has made James, at worst, the second-best player ever to touch an NBA court, and the arguments for him to be at the top of any list won't cause you any strain. Because Tuesday, even in a 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons, James became the best player ever to hoop in this league at 41, the age he turned on Monday. Last season, he was the best at doing it at 40. An d 39 before that, a...

What was supposed to be a celebratory night for LeBron James turned into a disappointing rout as the Los Angeles Lakers fell 128-106 to the Detroit Pistons. LeBron, turning 41 on the day of the game, scored 17 points with four rebounds and four assists. However, the future Hall of Famer had his birthday spoiled as Detroit pulled away decisively. Luka Doncic led LA with 30 points and 11 assists, but he did commit eight turnovers. The Pistons dominated the Lakers in the paint with 74 points. They proved how undersized LA's frontcourt is. Detroit was led by Cade Cunningham, who dropped 27 points and 11 assists. Bench spark Marcus Sasser added a season-high 19 points, while Isaiah Stewart contributed 15. Despite losing Tobias Harris early to a hip injury, Detroit never trailed in the second half, outscoring LA 32-18 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers have now lost four of their last five games, dropping them to 20-11. Their defense h...

Tuesday was not a happy 41st birthday for LeBron James, at least on the court. The Detroit Pistons defeated his Los Angeles Lakers 128-106 at Crypto.com Arena to improve to an Eastern Conference-best 25-8. They also snapped a two-game losing streak in the process and look the part of a true contender in the early going this season. Cade Cunningham finished with 27 points, 11 assists and five rebounds on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, while Marcus Sasser (19 points and five assists on 4-of-6 from deep) and Isaiah Stewart (15 points) provided a lift off the bench to help account for Tobias Harris exiting in the first quarter with a hip injury . As for the Lakers, they are still a solid 20-11 overall but fell to just 1-4 in their last five games as their struggles with consistency following a 15-4 start continued. Luka Dončić did what he could with 30 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, but even he had eight turnovers as the Los Angeles offense wasn't able to score enough poin...

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LeBron James turned 41 on Tuesday, which continues his impressive run as one of the oldest players in NBA history. This season, he is the oldest player, but he remains one of the most productive. This season, he struggled with sciatica, which made him miss games. Despite that, he has been solid, averaging 20.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game.  James is not even back to his best yet, but everyone knows he will be contributing for the Los Angeles Lakers . Considering he is a year into his 40s, James has been impressive not only to the fans, but to his teammates as well. Nick Smith Jr. is one of the players always impressed by James of how well he's playing despite his age. Over the past two decades, the NBA has seen a perennial superstar in LeBron James. He is one of the biggest anomalies for athletes because he is fast, strong, and that has not d ropped off since his teenage years. The longevity is part of why he is such a well-r...

Could Steph Curry finally get his wish? More news:  Lakers Champ Horace Grant Gets Honest About Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant Era The longtime Golden State Warriors star has made it no secret that he's wanted to play with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James at some point during their respective careers. While we saw that come to fruition during the Olympics in Paris, one noteworthy sports personality believes we could see it again where the two team up toget her on an NBA court. The Ringer's Bill Simmons is no stranger to coming up with hypothetical NBA trades. It's one of his favorite activities to participate in on his eponymous podcast. Speaking on Sunday night about the current situation involving the Lakers, Simmons believes that trading James to the Golden State Warriors for Jimmy Butler could be beneficial for both teams. "LeBron for Jimmy Butler. It feels like a 'for the good of the sport' trade. Just more fun. The Warriors are not fun,...

The NBA officially released the first batch of All-Star voting returns yesterday for the game that will take place in February at the Intuit Dome, the home of the Los Angeles Clippers. Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are leading their respective conferences, while the rest of the list is also very intriguing. After dominating this list for years without any issues, LeBron James currently sits just ninth in the Western Conference and 15th overall in total votes with 536,555 overall. Some might say that it is deserved, since for the first time in his 23rd season, he missed the season opener and has already been absent for a total of 16 games. Advertisement Since returning, it has become clear that the 41-year-old is slightly on a downward trajectory, which is only logic al, and his numbers are no longer at the level of recent seasons. Still, we are talking about a player who remains productive on a team competing near the top of the Western Conference, but Tim Bontemps believ...

Coming off a huge win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings went into the second night of a back-to-back with a challenging road matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately for the Kings, they could not string together consecutive wins, as they suffered a 24-point loss to the Lakers. In the Lakers' win, they got some huge performances out of their superstar duo, Luka Doncic and LeBron James. After the game, Kings head coach Doug Christie got honest about the difficulty of facin g a duo as talented as Doncic and James, especially against their defensive scheme. "There's only a few players in the league that can make a cross-court pass on time, on target, on a rope, and both of them are on the same team," Christie said. "...I mean, special players. First of all, their size to be able to see over a lot of defenses. They've experienced so many different things throughout their paths... they're dissecting the game at a really, really...

The Los Angeles Lakers could make things interesting during the trade season.  The franchise reportedly isn't interested in completing a groundbreaking deal, but could their stance change between now and Feb. 5? The Ringer's Bill Simmons isn't closing the door on that possibility, suggesting that Los Angeles could make a monster LeBron James-centered trade for a 6-foot-6 Golden State Warriors superstar. "How do you make the league more fun," Simmons said Monday. "You have a team that nobody's excited about with the Lakers and a team that feels dead with the Warriors. LeBron for Jimmy Butler. That's it. It feels like, for the good of the sport, trade, just more fun." Acquiring But ler would not only help the Lakers solve their glaring defensive woes, but also give the franchise a gifted, mid-range heavy wing who's shooting a career-best 41.7% from deep this season.  The only issue is that James has a n...

The Los Angeles Lakers got back to their winning ways in their latest game, defeating the Sacramento Kings 125-101, and it came with an efficient game from LeBron James . The Lakers' star had 24 points and shot 11-of-13 from the field, and he's still showing that he isn't slowing down anytime soon. With James' 41st birthday coming up, it looks like he may be the exception to the rule about Father Time. Funny enough, James himself thinks it as well . "I'm in a battle with [Father Time] and I would like to say I'm kicking his ass on the back nine," James said after their win against the Kings. James had to miss some time earlier this season after dealing with sciatica, an d when he first came back, of course, he didn't truly look like himself. Throughout the process, he even broke his long streak of scoring 10 points in a game. Since then, James has come back and looked like the player we all know, even at his age. Though James is still playing...

Horace Grant is one of the NBA legends who were often asked about the NBA GOAT debate. Having played alongside Michael Jordan and against LeBron James in his final season in the league, Grant's insights carry considerable weight in the discussion. In his latest take on the Jordan vs. LBJ discourse, the four-time champion first acknowledged James' incredible longevity. Apart from raving about how durable and disciplined Bron is, Grant also implied that that separated Bron from other GOAT candidates. Advertisement "How can LeBron, at his age, still be playing at a high level like that ?" Grant recently told Heavy in an exclusive interview. "When I was 41, I could barely walk." Grant changed his stance on the GOAT debate The 6'10" forward won three NBA titles with MJ during his time with the Chicago Bulls. That being said, it's no wonder Horace had always picked Jordan over James as the one true GOAT in the past. However, that's no lo...

LeBron James Reacts to Russell Westbrook Milestone Before Kings-Lakers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Before the Sacramento Kings reached their Sunday night clash against the Los Angeles Lakers , the veteran guard Russell Westbrook reached a new career milestone. Advertisement The future Hall of Famer surpassed Magic Johnson for No. 7 on the NBA's all-time assists list. Westbrook's former teammate, and current LA Lakers star LeBron James, took to social media to send a straightforward message on Westbrook's latest accomplishment. "Russ is one of the all-time greats! Flowers given," user CuffsTheLegend wrote in a post that generated over 800,00 views. James responded with two emojis; "facts" and "flowers." Westbrook's run with the Lakers started in 2021-2022. He was with the two for less than two years. After his full-season, 78-game run in 2021-2022, Westbro...

LeBron James declines media after JJ Redick addresses 'uncomfortable truth' in Lakers meeting appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred So urce by clicking here . Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers had a bit of a tumultuous moment with a Christmas Day blowout loss to the Houston Rockets at home, after which JJ Redick put the team on blast for their perceived lack of effort and promised a difficult practice over the weekend. Despite their solid record of 19-10, the Lakers' lack of viable two-way players has started to become an issue too big to ignore in recent weeks. Advertisement After Saturday's practice, Redick took a bit more accountability than he did in the aftermath of the Rockets loss. "Myself, I'm always going to look in the mirror first," said Redick, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. "And I think it's easy as a player, as a coach to say, 'It's this guy's fault,' or, 'We're not doing th...

During the offseason, LeBron James and his camp gave out signals to the Los Angeles Lakers to the tune of potentially looking at options to sign with another team. Some teams did draw interest, but everyone knew the 4-time NBA champion was not going to leave the purple and gold franchise, which he eventually did when he activated his $53 million option . Since then, James has missed more than a month due to sciatica, and after returning, has effectively become the team's third option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. He claimed he did not have a problem with it and was ready to play any role the team wanted him to enact. However, their recent blowout losses have proven that some problems are deeper than what seems on the surface. When he's not engaged or feels some type of way it speaks in his body language… LeBron and the Lakers relationship has run its course, and they need to figure out a solution, and the solution is him...

Even the most objective observer will admit that LeBron James has not been a good defensive player for at least five years. But the 40-year-old was still a serviceable help defender and weakside disruptor when surrounded by good athletes. This season, though, James has regressed to a level of defensive liability for the Lakers . A large part of that reason is the team's personnel. Last year, the Lakers had Anthony Davis for the first half of the season and Dorian Finney-Smith for the second, which helped mask their defensive issues. The latter was particularly crucial as he took on the main perimeter assignments, freeing up James to be a free safety of sorts. The Lakers don't have that luxury this year. While Marcus Smart has been their only net-positive defender, the former Defensive Player of the Year is an offensive liability for JJ Redick , shooting 4-of-20 from three over his last three games. LeBron James Can't Defend LeBron James has the worst defen...

The debate over who defines this NBA era remains complex, given the number of revolutionary stars and true game changers. For many fans and analysts, LeBron James is the default answer, not only because of his longevity but also because he is widely considered one of the greatest players in league history. However, Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett offered a different perspective that shifted the conversation. Garnett did not hesitate when the question came up. In his view, the NBA has belonged to Stephen Curry for quite some time. Speaking with Paul Pierce on Ticket and The Truth, Kevin Garnett made his stance clear and left little room for ambiguity. "I think all the young stars of our league are starting to come into their own. I've said this countless times. I think that we're in the Curry era. He is the GOAT of this era. When we talk about the long ball and the 3 ball, you got to talk about the messiah of that long ball, you understand, and that's how I loo...

Future Hall of Fame players LeBron James and Kevin Durant will face off in their fifth Christmas game against each other. This will also mark the first match up of the season between the two. James and Durant have had many battles over the years and have cemented themselves as two of the best to step on the court. In their four previous battles on Christmas, James has won three out of the four. For James, this will be his 18th consecutive Christmas game and 20th overall , an impressive stat in itself. This will be Durant's third consecutive Christmas game and his 12th overall. Rockets' Kevin Durant's First Time Against LeBron James While these two have had countless battles over the years, this will mark the first time that Durant will face James as a member of the Houston Rockets . The Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers are two teams that are battling in a competitive Western Conference. Going into the Christmas game, the Lakers are in fourth place (19-9) a...

Over the years, LeBron James has seen players come through with skills that are not only difficult to stop, but their ability to find ways to win eventually made them one of the all-time greats. Be it James Harden's jab step threes, or Kevin Durant's smooth and consistent mid-range, or Nikola Jokic's all-round ability to control the game, the King has seen his fair share of excellence. When it comes to reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fans have a different opinion on how good he is. While there is no doubting the fact that he is a walking bucket, the way he gets his points has become a sour topic for fans, purists, and analysts . Roughly a quarter of his season points total has come from free throws. As he has made it a habit of being able to draw opponents into fouls, many have scoffed at his sometimes blatant attempts. You've got to keep him off the free-throw line, which is hard… He knows how to manipulate the ga...

Lakers LeBron James reflects on historic 1,297 game scorings streak ending originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . LeBron James has put together one of the most prolific careers in NBA history,  spanning over 20 years, and has reached the pinnacle of the sport, delivering a championship to the franchise every year. Advertisement One of James' major career milestones came to an end early this season when his 1,297-game streak of scoring 10 points ended in the Lakers ' match against the team. In the latest episode of Mind the Game  Podcast James, alongside co-host Steve Nash, reflected on his impressive strea k coming to an end. "I'm a guy who goes to the bench, and I like to look at the stat sheet. I like to look at what I'm shooting from the field, and I like to be super efficient. I'd be lying to say that I don't know how many points I have at any given moment of the game, but I never ...

LeBron James: I never set out a goal to be the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. Like I looked at that number as a rookie, as a high school kid, as an elementary kid, middle-school kid, and I was like, 'Oh my goodness.' Like that is so many points. Not only so many points, it's so many years of dominance and longevity. Guys are not playing that long, guys are not playing into their 20th year or 19th year or 21st year, whatever the case may be. And as the years went on and I started to like pass guys and pass guys and I started to feel l ike my body was like not breaking down at year 15, 16, 17. And I kept climbing the ranks, and then they start doing those 'well if you keep this pace up in six years, he'll be right here, if he keep this pace up in five years, if you keep this pace up in four years, and then it started becoming like a realistic thing, because I felt like my body was not breaking down. YouTube

LeBron James says his Los Angeles Lakers teammates are getting used to the NBA's all-time leading scorer breaking records during his historic 23rd season in the league. "My teammates make jokes with me all the time, before I go out," James said on Monday's episode of the Mind the Game podcast. "They always say, 'Welp, it's gonna be another LeBron record tonight. The first guy to tie his shoestrings 100 times in a game, LeBron James.' "Like, they say I hold every record. 'The first guy that runs out of the tunnel and don't look down,' or whatever. It's like, there's a record for everything." James made history this fall just by making his season debut on Nov. 18. That made him the first player to appear in 23 NBA seasons. Two weeks later, James' historic streak of 1,297 straight games with double-digit point totals came to an end with an eight-point outing on Dec. 4. James is about to set yet another record by ...

Minnesota Timberwolves icon Kevin Garnett has urged the Los Angeles Lakers fanbase, and NBA fans in general, not to waste an All-Star vote on LeBron James. The 40-year-old James can add to his record run of 21 consecutive All-Star selections this year, a streak that began in his second season in 2004-05. The streak technically ended last year as he sat out the exhibition contest with a last-minute ankle injury. However, the appearance still counted in the NBA Almanac by virtue of his selection. Garnett believes that James will likely pull a fast one and sit out the game again, even if fans vote him into the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. "LeBron does not want to play in the All-Star Game," Garnett said on the latest "KG Certified" podcast. "Listen, all you people out there that are going to vote for LeBron: 'save your vote.' He didn't play in it last year. Why would you expect him to play it this year?" LeBron James' All-Star Cha...

LeBron James is an all-star NBA basketball player for the Los Angeles Laker. Along with Michael Jordan, "Magic" Johnson, and Coby Bryant, he is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. James set new industry records throughout his career and achieved multiple accolades, including four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals NVP awards, four NBA championships, and two Olympic gold medals. Out of every NBA player in the league's history, James has the second most career points of all time and most scored points in the playoffs. Between 2011-2018 he competed every year in the NBA finals. Moreover, James is the first player to reach the milestone of 10,000 career points, rebounds, and assists. His distinguished career has earned a fortune estimated to be more than one billion dollars. Born in Ohio, James started playing basketball at an early age and became recognized as an up-and-coming future NBA star while enrolled in high school. He was draf...

The Los Angeles Lakers fell 103–88 to the Clippers on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome and were unable to mount a comeback despite a huge performance from LeBron James, who finished with 36 points. The Purple and Gold were without Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton and Gabe Vincent for the first meeting of the season against the Clippers, while Luka Dončić left the game after suffering a bruised left leg, limiting him to just 20 minutes. With so many absences, James assumed full leadership responsibility against the Clippers, although his effort ultimately was not enough. After the game, the future Hall of Famer stressed that the team must be ready to face the challenge of competing without key pieces over the course of a very long season, one in which the Lakers aim to contend for a championship. LeBron James' message to his teammates "Regardless of the circumstances, it's always the next man in the rotatio n who has to step up," James said in his pos...