Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is showing the world that he can still dictate a basketball game this late into his career.
The Lakers found themselves trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter to the L.A. Clippers, and were on their way to an embarrassing loss. However, James turned back the clock and exploded offensively to give the Lakers the win.
It was the largest fourth quarter comeback in James’ career and he led the way by scoring 19 points in the period alone.
LeBron then returned to the court 24 hours later when the Lakers hosted the Washington Wizards and had 31 points in 39 minutes in an overtime win.
What James is doing in the 21st season of his career is unprecedented, and it’s a credit to the work he has put in throughout the course of his career and continues to at age 39.
“I think you’ll only get out of the game as much as you put into it,” James said after his big performance against the Clippers. “For me, I’ve always wanted to be one of the greatest to ever play this game. I knew I was born with some gifts and both with some athletic abilities and I saw it early on, a lot of people would tell me early on, but that only gets you so far. It only gets you so far, especially in this league where everybody is born with an unbelievable gift and that’s why there’s only a select few of us that make it to this league.
“So I just had to put the work into it, I’ve always cared about trying to get better and having a growth mindset of getting better and better every single year and try to keep the defense so unbalanced that they don’t know what to do because I’ve just expanded my game each and every moment.”
James added that he is trying to set an example for everyone that comes after him with his work ethic.
“I think that’s the most important thing I can give to the younger generation, is just put the work in. Put the work in and continue to work your habits and continue to put the work in no matter if you’re not feeling great about it or whatever the case may be. I think it’s always gonna pay off because the work never ever shies away from it. You can never shy away from the work. The work is always gonna pay off. And when you shortcut the process, it will catch up to you.
“But if you put the work in day in and day out, both physically, mentally, spiritually, whatever the case may be, I think it will always pay off for you. So for me, I wanted to be great. I wanted to be great. And you can’t be great if you don’t punch your clock it. So I think that’s what it all boils down to.”
James has certainly paid his dues with how much he works on his game and the results speak for themselves.
LeBron James explains offensive zone against Clippers
There’s nothing like a superstar heating up from the field, and LeBron James put on a show in the fourth quarter against the Clippers. He explained the offensive zone he was in and called it a superpower.
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