Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has continually redefined what a player at his age and stage of his basketball career is capable of physically. While he has certainly slowed down to some degree, as should be expected, LeBron is still more than capable of some explosive moments that no one at the age of 40 should be able to pull off.
One of those moments came in the Lakers’ contest against the San Antonio Spurs as James looked like his 2012 self when he drove down the lane and threw down a thunderous dunk over big man Luke Kornet. The move brought LeBron’s Lakers teammates and the entire Crypto.com Arena to their feet, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to propel L.A. to a win.
And it was that exact point that caused James to downplay the dunk overall as he felt the Lakers missed the opportunity to build on that moment and keep their momentum going.
“It was just a play,” LeBron said after the loss. “You always wish that momentum from that kind of play will carry over, and there was a moment where we could have. We had an opportunity. We had two straight turnovers after that, and it went from an eight-point game to a 12-point game at the end of the half. We did have some momentum going into the halftime, but then at the start of the third we went back down 20.”
The fact that the Lakers weren’t able to capitalize was a real missed opportunity. The Lakers had climbed back within single-digits, but were unable to keep it there and once the second half rolled around, the Spurs immediately seized the momentum again and never looked back.
Wins are always the most important thing, so James feeling this way about that dunk in a loss makes a lot of sense. Even still, it is good to appreciate these moments that he continues to provide as he won’t be playing many more years and the basketball world is unlikely to witness anyone doing these things more than 20 years into their career again.
Lakers’ LeBron James dismisses any thoughts of playoffs this early in the season
The Lakers have been one of the best teams in the league so far this season, but many still question whether they will be able to compete with the NBA’s best once the playoffs roll around. But LeBron James wasn’t willing to entertain any thoughts about the playoffs during this early stage of the season.
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