(Miami) It was 2006. LeBron James wasn’t halfway through his first stint in Cleveland yet. He reached the playoffs for the first time, he has already become a planetary star. At 21, he averaged 30.2 points per game.
Let’s transport ourselves 16 years later. He left Cleveland, moved to Miami, won two championships, got married, became the father of three children, returned to Cleveland, won another championship, moved to Los Angeles and won a fourth championship, with the Lakers.
He remains a huge star. He fuels conversations about the greatest player of all time. At 37, he averaged 30.1 points per game.
Disputing a 20e season, James turns 38 on Friday. No one in NBA history has averaged as many points as a 37-year-old athlete. Not even close.
Karl Malone averaged 23.2 points at that age; for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving it was 20.2. In the history of the NBA, 150 players were still there at 37 years old. The average harvest of the other 149 was 8.3 points per game.
And James isn’t slowing down. He’s averaged more points at age 37 than at 22. Or 23. Or 24. Or any other age in the last 16 years.
“I know how hard he works on his game,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. All the time he spends in the gym. And he is not there to shoot absently, at random. He strives to be ready to hit from anywhere on the court. »
James is approaching Abdul-Jabbar’s points record – he is 574 points short of joining him.
“I spend a lot of money on basketball,” James said. I know what effort I put into it physically, mentally, and all that.
“That said, I admit that I still surprise myself on occasion. When you look at the history of the league, there have not been many cases of playing at this level for so long and with such a record. »
At 37, he averaged not just 30.1 points, but 8.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
Only six players that age have averaged more rebounds and only four have had more assists – Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and John Stockton.
James could catch Abdul-Jabbar in February. And since he has no plans to stop playing anytime soon, the record could be out of reach by the time he says it’s over.
“He’s constantly refining his craft,” said Heat driver Erik Spoelstra, the only coach to win more than one championship with James. He will continue to add new strings to his bow. It’s not an irritant or a source of boredom for him and it shows.
“He’s like a computer. When he sees another player working on something, or doing something in particular, he thinks “oh, I want to try that”. »
The Lakers are 14-21 and are struggling with the absence of Anthony Davis – the latter has a foot injury, and it is not known when he will be able to return to the game.
They are trying to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight season.
Since James and Davis led the Lakers to the title in 2020, the team hasn’t won a series, having been knocked out in the first round in 2021.
James is averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists this season.
He’s never finished a season with such high averages in those three categories — not even in any of the four seasons he was most valuable player.
“I want to continue to be able to hope for a championship,” said James. I know what I can still bring to a club that has the right elements. »
He’ll be a 38-year-old star at Utah in February; only five other players have participated in the annual classic at age 38 or older.
The Lakers are three and a half games out of last place for the qualifying tournament.
James doesn’t know how much longer he wants to play, but he knows what he wants to achieve.
“I’m a winner and I want to win,” said James. I want to be in a position to aspire to the title. It’s always been my passion and my goal since I came to the league at 18 from Akron. I know it takes steps to get there. And once you’re there, you know how to get there.
“Playing basketball at this level just to play basketball is not in my DNA. We’ll see. We’ll see how fresh and alert my mind will stay for the next few years. »