LeBron James had 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the Lakers’ series-clinching win over the Rockets on Friday. At 41, he is turning back the clock and taking the Lakers on a storybook playoff run.
A Veteran's Resurgence
The veteran star’s days as the No 1 option once appeared behind him. Against the favored Rockets, he put Father Time on the ropes and his team on his back.
On 12 March, the Los Angeles Lakers were in the midst of a run that garnered well-deserved attention, winning 15 of 17 games. The spirit of the locker room was at an all-time high. LeBron James, the 41-year-old storied veteran and greatest-of-all-time candidate, had recently put his ego aside to accept a role as the team’s third option. He believed what many around the NBA were starting to: his Lakers had a real shot at contention.
“As you get older, you appreciate the moment more than anything. When you’re younger, you think about what you’ve done in the past, or what’s to come in the future,” he said. “But the only thing that we know for sure is happening is the moment.”
The sentiment was more poignant than even James knew. On 2 April, in a drubbing at the hands of MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, the Lakers’ postseason hopes seemed dashed. They were down 31 at half-time. Then, in the third quarter, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the team’s backcourt starters, were both sidelined indefinitely with injury. The season appeared over.
Carrying the Team
As recently as a month ago, it seemed James’s days as the No 1 option were behind him. He is the oldest player in the NBA for two years running. He shares a team with Dončić, the 27-year-old perennial MVP candidate. But when the Lakers lost their two leading scorers, James faced two choices: call it a season, or carry the team as he had done so many times before.
Neither Vegas nor basketball experts gave the Lakers any chance against the Houston Rockets in the first-round series. The Lakers grabbed a commanding 3-0 lead before sealing the victory in six games in Houston on Friday night. The upset was a true team effort: Luke Kennard essentially won Game 1; Marcus Smart proved indispensable; Deandre Ayton was invaluable defensively and on the glass; and JJ Redick proved his mettle as a tactician and leader.
But the story of the series was James. In a critical Game 3, he got a gutsy steal on Reed Sheppard and hit a miracle three-pointer at the end of regulation, forcing overtime and ultimately a win. He did so minutes after going on a 10-0 Lakers run with his own son, including a highlight alley-oop. Throughout the series, James averaged 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds with nearly two steals per game. He was the best player on the floor.
“I’ve done it throughout my career, but they still have to accept it,” James said in the locker room after Game 6, on slotting back into a leadership role. “For them to allow me to lead them, that means a lot to me.” Redick, clearly moved, could only shake his head. “For him to do it again, to answer the bell again, it’s really … it’s baffling, in some ways,” Redick said. “The leadership aspect, he just has this ability to set the tone for the entire group, and he did that again tonight, and our guys responded.”
Defying Father Time
Father Time is undefeated, so the saying goes. But James has proved a formidable challenger. “I’m kicking his ass,” James deadpanned after the series clincher. Twenty-three rounds in, he has Time on the ropes.
Reaves, who returned from a severe oblique strain for the final two games, said he doesn’t take what James is doing for granted. “I told him after the game, ‘You’re insane. The stuff that you’re doing … It’s not normal,’” he said. “The way he can still control a game, it’s impressive. I don’t think you can say in words how special he was, not just tonight, but this series, this year.”
The Lakers will face the Thunder in the Western Conference semi-finals. Nothing for Los Angeles went according to plan this year. It was going to be a transitional year, until things started to click. Then it was destined to be a tale of woe. In any of a myriad possible timelines, this wasn’t LeBron James’s team to carry. In all but one, we had seen the last of a superhero run from him in the NBA postseason. None of this was supposed to happen. But the basketball gods work in mysterious ways, and for the moment, the story isn’t over yet.
