In his 22nd NBA season, and having just turned 40 years old, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James continues to defy all matters of how good a player can be at this stage of his career. More proof of that came on Friday night as he passed Michael Jordan for most career 30-point games in the Lakers’ win over the Atlanta Hawks.
It wasn’t that long ago that many were questioning if LeBron was finally hitting his decline, but he has quickly turned that around and the Lakers are benefitting from it. There has always been a ton of outside noise surrounding James, but the Lakers star pays little attention to it.
“I guess it’s just growth from my age and understanding what matters and what doesn’t matter,” LeBron said after the game. “Outside noise has never deterred me from my goal and my personal journey, my personal legend. So you just know that the only way you can get to where you want to get to is work.
“There’s gonna be conversations about what I should do, how I should do it, how many years. I’ve played, why I got this and why I got that, but nobody can ever say that I cheated the game and I didn’t work for everything I got. I put the work in and nothing else matters after that.”
Just like James said, no one can ever question the amount of work he has put into being one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He has accomplished everything there is to do at this level, but he still continues to push himself simply because he loves the game of basketball.
“My motivation is just, I don’t even know at this point. I just love the game,” LeBron added. “I love to play the game of basketball. I got an opportunity this summer to be in France and to represent Team USA and that was an amazing opportunity for me and my family being in Paris and bringing home gold. And then just coming back here, I just love the game.
“Obviously my son over there has given me some more inspiration, some more reason to go out there and kind of just show him what it takes to be a professional, what it takes day in and day out to try to master and be great. I still have a little bit left in the tank. So I guess I’ll go until it’s kind of empty, I guess.”
This drive is what has placed James at or near the top of everyone’s greatest players list and it continually helps drive this Lakers team to be as good as it can be this season, and for however much longer LeBron chooses to play.
Lakers’ Anthony Davis pokes fun at LeBron James’ latest accomplishment
LeBron James passing Michael Jordan for most career 30-point games is a big deal. Most don’t consider LeBron a scorer in the way they do Jordan or Kobe Bryant, but his longevity is unmatched. But his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis used that against him as he made a joke at James’ expense.
When asked about LeBron’s latest accomplishment, Davis noted that it took him seven more seasons than Jordan to reach this mark before praising his Lakers teammate and expressing gratitude at being able to witness so many of his accomplishments up close.
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