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Showing posts from December, 2025

LeBron James and Lakers Relationship Has ‘Run Its Course’, Says Kendrick Perkins

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...

Lakers’ LeBron James Urged to Retire Amid ‘Defensive Liability’ Label

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...

Not LeBron James: Boston Celtics’ former icon names the greatest player of this era

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...

Christmas Game: LeBron James and Kevin Durant’s First Match Up of the Season

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...

LeBron James Reveals Way to Stop ‘Manipulative’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

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

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

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 Reveals Lakers Teammates Joke About His NBA Records in Video

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 ...

Lakers Fans Warned About LeBron James as All-Star: ‘Save Your Vote’

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

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...

LeBron James sends clear message after Lakers loss

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...

Lakers’ LeBron James shuts down Chris Paul question – ‘None of my business’

As the Los Angeles Lakers had a showdown with the in-state Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, resulting in the disappointing 103-88 loss, LeBron James would be asked about an interesting situation that happened with his opponents. While some have speculated that the Lakers could obtain Chris Paul after he was sent home by the Clippers, James would give his thoughts about the exit of his friend. Speaking to the media, James would be asked by ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly if he had the chance to talk to Paul after the situation ended with the Clippers, to which the star responded, "No, I haven't talked with him." In a follow-up question by Azarly asking if he was surprised by how events transpired, James would have straight-forward repsonse. "It's not for me to comment on. It's none of my business," James said. Though James did not have an in-depth answer on Paul's situation, the basketball world could take that in a bunch of ways, with one t...

LeBron James cites 'Luka magic' as Doncic has 45-point triple-double

SALT LAKE CITY -- LeBron James was in awe of "Luka magic" after Luka Doncic had 45 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds in his fifth triple-double of the season in a 143-135 win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. "That's Luka. Luka magic! It's no surprise. He's just so damn good, it's ridiculous," said James, who had 28 points and 10 assists for the Lakers. Doncic had his first 40-point triple-double as a Laker since arriving last season became the second player to have a 45-point triple double with five steals since the NBA began keeping track of steals. Cade Cunningham was first. But the statistic that made Doncic smile the most in the postgame press conference was his single turnover. "One turnover is the best thing on this stat sheet. We have seven turnovers, which is impressive for us, and we won the game," Doncic said. The Lakers led by 12 in the fourth quarter but the Jazz cut it to 134-130 before Doncic found Jaxson Hayes for h...

LeBron, Lakers Disappoint NBA Fans in Loss to James Harden, Clippers as Luka Injured

LeBron James and an injured Los Angeles Lakers team fell 103–88 to their in-town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, on the road after losing Luka Doncic to an injury in the second half. Doncic did not start the third quarter and was later ruled out, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin , with a left leg contusion. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, along with five rebounds and two assists. James led the way for the Lakers with 36 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, shooting 15-of-28 from the field. Los Angeles struggled offensively in the first half, entering halftime shooting just 34.1 percent from the field and 2-of-19 from beyond the arc while trailing a Clippers team that entered Saturday's matchup with only six wins on the season. For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard led the charge with 32 points, three assists, and 12 rebounds, while James Harden added 21 points and 10 assists. John Collins also contributed, chipping in 17 p oints and 12 rebounds in the ...

LeBron James Provides Concerning Injury Update After Lakers Win

Veteran forward LeBron James admittedly survived a major injury scare Thursday night when he collided with Utah Jazz rookie Walter Clayton Jr. After the Los Angeles Lakers completed a 143-135 victory , James revealed he felt "sharp pain" in the same knee in which he suffered an MCL sprain during the playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. "Just a little bolt to the knee, like a sharp pain to the knee," James said after the game, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Got kneed on the inside, like the medial side, of the knee. And just kind of wanted to take my time a little bit as it calmed down … or hoping it calmed down. "I told Mike [Mancias], my trainer, I said, 'We dodged a bullet there.'" "I told Mike [Mancias], my trainer, I said, 'We dodged a bullet there,'" LeBron James on the collision that Jazz rookie Walter Clayton Jr. had with the inside of James' left knee tonight. It w...

Rich Paul Claims LeBron James And Carmelo Anthony Were Never True Rivals

Rich Paul pushed back on one of the NBA's longest-running debates while speaking on the Game Over podcast, offering a blunt assessment of LeBron James ' supposed rivalry with Carmelo Anthony . According to Paul, the matchup fans wanted never truly materialized, and for a very particular reason. "You have to meet in the playoffs or Finals," Paul said . "Over time, it definitely wasn't a rivalry because LeBron skipped over to people that weren't even his peers. He was being held to the standard of people who weren't even his peers. One was gone, he was the ghost in Michael Jordan. The other one was Kobe. We all wanted that matchup in 2009." Early in their careers, LeBron and Carmelo were often grouped as the faces of a new generation. They entered the league one year apart, shared Olympic experiences , and were constantly compared as elite scorers and franchise cornerstones. On paper, the ingredients f...

Jaylen Brown specifically calls out LeBron James for always flopping

Jaylen Brown specifically calls out LeBron James for always flopping appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Without question, Jaylen Brown knows how to bring the heat. Just ask Isiah Stewart of the Detroit Pistons . So when examining the NBA landscape, Brown knows what he likes and what he doesn't. Advertisement As a result, he doesn't mind calling out some other big names to make his point. During a recent livestream with DDG, Brown made it a point to call out LeBron James and others, per Athlon Sports/Yahoo Sports. Specifically, he didn't like it when they continually flop. "Difference between drawing a foul and then flopping," Brown said. "Flopping is acting like you got hit and you didn't get hit." "Everyone does it," Brown said. "A lot of the offensive players do it." Among the other players he mentioned were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joel Embiid, James Harden, ...

NBA Insider Raises Big Question About LeBron James’ Next Contract

LeBron James is playing in the final season of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers . Is the future Hall of Famer on his final lap in the NBA? He won't say. Therefore, nobody else truly knows. As LeBron gets settled in after missing a chunk of games to begin the 2025-2026 NBA season, it's becoming clear that he might have enough gas left in the tank to continue playing beyond this season. Realistically, LeBron's future could come down to two key factors. One, the situation with the team. And two, his next contract, and what the dollar figures look like. This year, LeBron is making over $50 million at 41 years old. Could he comman d another $50 million deal for his age 42 season? ESPN's Brian Windhorst seriously doubts it. "It's not realistic for a 41-year-old, even if he's the greatest 41-year-old athlete the world has ever seen, to make the salary that he's making," Windhorst said recently. "The Lakers knew that with where the leagu...

Markieff Morris hit LeBron James with a ‘what the f**k’ about Lakers’ lack of respect last season

The Los Angeles Lakers have been impressive thus far on the 2025-26 NBA season, currently sitting at 18-7 ahead of Thursday night's game against the Utah Jazz. The Lakers recently picked up a road win over the Phoenix Suns thanks to a controversial call late that put LeBron James on the line, where he knocked down two out of three free throw attempts. The Lakers of course are led by Luka Doncic, whom the team acquired in early February last year from the Dallas Mavericks, and recently, former Lakers forward Markieff Morris weighed in on how that move may have affected the team's view of James himself. "You d id get Luka, so it's gonna be… but, I just felt like the respect (for James) wasn't high enough," said Morris, per the Morris Code Show on X, formerly Twitter. "And I actually said it to him [LeBron James] a couple times like, 'bro, what the f**k?" It was clear once the Lakers acquired Doncic that he would be their number one priority...

Dillon Brooks Calls Out LeBron James After Altercation, Ejection in Lakers vs. Suns

After an altercation with LeBron James that led to an ejection during a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Phoenix Suns guard Dillon Brooks had strong words about James. "He is a social media junkie. He be all over the socials," Brooks said. "He be seeing what I'm saying. And when I go out there he thinks that people should think a way about him and not say nothing about him or play a certain way. I'm not going to play that way. He gets in his moods or in his modes or whatever it is and I'm all for that. I wish we would have let him shoot that shot and that s--t would have been an airball." Brooks, who has been known to try to antagonize James for several years now, was ejected just seconds after hitting a clutch three. The ejection came with 12.2 seconds left as he got in the face of James, apparently upset by the way James contested the three. Brooks was handed his second technical foul of the game. The NBA's Last Two Minutes rep...

How Luka Doncic really feels about JJ Redick demanding he and LeBron James defend better

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Photo by David Berding/Getty Images Luka Doncic says JJ Redick was right to challenge him and LeBron James on defensive end Luka Doncic spoke to reporters ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Utah Jazz and addressed the recent meeting he had with JJ Redick. Redick asked LeBron James and Luka Doncic to lead the team on the defensive end, and Doncic agreed that as the two star players, they must do exactly what Redick asked of them. ...

Cooper Flagg broke LeBron James’ rookie record. How do their 1st seasons compare?

Six days shy of his 19th birthday, Cooper Flagg made a grown-man move. With his Dallas Mavericks trailing the Utah Jazz by three points in the final minute of the fourth quarter on Monday, Flagg drove into the paint and absorbed the body blow Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski administered. Flagg was fouled and still made a running, left-handed layup for his 38th and 39th points of the game. Flagg finished with 42 points in the Mavericks' 140-133 overtime loss in Utah. He was clearly frustrated about his team blowing a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the performance only reinforced that the Newport, Maine, native is one of the best teenagers to ever step on an NBA court. Flagg's scoring outburst broke a record LeBron James set in 2003 for the most points an 18-year-old had ever produced in an NBA game. Flagg, who turns 19 on Sunday, chose to skip a year of high school so he could start the clock on his NBA career as soon as possible. He is so young t hat if he were bo...

Why Kevin Durant says Lakers superstar LeBron James is still improving at nearly 41

As Los Angeles Lakers ' superstar LeBron James moves through his historic 23rd NBA season , questions about longevity and decline naturally follow. Yet even as the Lakers star forward approaches his 41st birthday, some of the league's sharpest basketball minds believe James is still evolving, not fading. One of them is longtime rival and fellow superstar Kevin Durant . Durant recently shared his perspective during an appearance on the Unguarded podcast, where he reflected on James' late-career transformation and why age hasn't capped his growth . "I feel like LeBron [James] still getting better at his game ," Durant said on the podcast. "I feel like he recently mastered his game at like 38. He added a three-pointer, he added a fadeaway, more consistent. You know what I'm saying? I look at it that way. I think he's on his way to mastering, truly mastering who he wants to be." Durant's comments stem from watching James subtly reshape h...

Dillon Brooks addresses ejection, feud with LeBron James in Suns loss

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50 Cent Making Lebron James Documentary Rumors Explained

Rumors online claim that 50 Cent is working on a LeBron James documentary for Netflix. After a post from a parody account went viral on social media, users seemed to believe the claims to be true. Moments like these remind us of how powerful social media can be in spreading misinformation, while also highlighting the need for online vigilance in the digital age. An account on X (formerly Twitter) that goes by the name Hoops Crave , reportedly posted pictures of 50 Cent and LeBron James, with the caption, "50 Cent is set to produce a Netflix documentary centered around LeBron James: 'This one ain't about basketball.'" It was reposted by many, resulting in the emergence of a rumor that a Le Bron James Netflix documentary from 50 Cent is in the works. However, this is not true, as Hoops Crave is only a "parody account." Showcasing a similar logo to Pop Crave , the Hoops Crave X account mentions in their bio, "Craving Hoops Culture | parody accoun...