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LeBron James Says He’s Adjusted His Game To Remain “Unguardable” | Third Player With Multiple 40 Point Games Over The Age Of 38

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On Monday night in a victory over the Houston Rockets LeBron James scored 48 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists. He became just the third player in NBA history over the age of 38 with multiple 40-point games, joining Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Is LeBron James Still The Best NBA Player?

At age 38 James is still playing basketball at an extremely high level. No longer the best player in the game, but still elite and playing All-NBA-level ball.

LeBron James Scores 48 Points at Age 38 

Bron is top 12 in EPM at +5.6. That’s the 97th percentile in the league. He’s ahead of Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, and Zion Williamson. All younger and vying for All-NBA status this season.

The 48 is a season-high for Bron has he continues to close in on Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record of 38,387 points. After Monday’s game, Bron’s point total is 38,072.

LeBron James In A Class By Himself

Bron is the only player in NBA history with at least 30,000 career points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists.

Let that sink in.

At 38 Bron is clearly capable of playing great on any given night. It just gets harder and harder to repeat these efforts. If the Lakers want to capitalize on his elite play, they need a healthy Anthony Davis to help carry the load.

“I was extremely exhausted today, extremely tired,” James said. “Body was sore from the battle that we had yesterday versus Philly. I guess once I stepped on the floor for warmups and the crowd fills in, it’s my job to go out and play the best way I can.”

LeBron James Played Against Jabari Smith Jr.’s Dad

In his 20th season in the league, Bron has had the opportunity to compete against a number of father-son duos. In the game against the Rockets Bron faced 2022 No. 3 overall draft pick Jabari Smith Jr., after facing his father (Jabari Smith Sr.) in his first regular season game as a pro in 2003, although Smith Sr. actually was a DNP for that game.

“It made me feel extremely old when Junior told me that,” James said after the game. “I think he even said it like, ‘You probably feel old.’ It’s just a unique thing that I’ve been able to withstand the test of time for as long as I’ve been playing, to be able to compete now versus father-and-son combinations.”

 

Can LeBron, Lakers Win NBA Title?

Through 44 games the Lakers are 20-24, a game and a half out of the play-in tournament spot at 10th. The Phoenix Suns are ahead of them also battling to get back into the mix after a rough two-month stretch. The question is, can the Lakers do it?

Right now, Bron is doing about as much as he can. At 38 he can’t play any more minutes than he’s playing now if the team wants him to be healthy all season. There is talk about the team making a move. But who? And for what?

When Bron decided to join the Lakers and then pushed the team to mortgage away all of its young talent and draft capital to acquire Anthony Davis, the bet was on a championship. They succeeded and won in 2020.

But to trade away what little draft capital they have left to maybe barely squeak into the postseason with no real shot at a title is not wise.

Bron and the Lakers made their bet on Davis. It yielded one title and that might be all.

Still, what Bron is doing on the floor at this age is the stuff of legend.

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