The Los Angeles Lakers may be off to an off-kilter 1-2 start this season, but LeBron James appears to be his usual self despite being in his 21st NBA season.
The 38-year-old superstar is averaging 23 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists a game while shooting 57.1% from the field to start out the year. In his last two games, he has come on strong in crunch time and at least given the Lakers a chance to win.
On Thursday versus the Phoenix Suns, he put up 10 points in the fourth quarter as his team overcame a 12-point deficit to start the period and won 100-95. When he took the floor on Monday against the Orlando Magic, he surpassed former big man Kevin Willis to move into eighth place on the list of the most games played in league history.
Another milestone.
LeBron has passed Kevin Willis for 8th-most games played in NBA history đź“ť pic.twitter.com/i1L9FPGslS
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 31, 2023
James played 39 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, and there was some question about his availability for Monday’s game. Managing his minutes will be key moving forward, both in terms of preserving his health and in terms of helping him remain fresh and productive.