LeBron James had every excuse not to play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
It was the second night of a back-to-back and the team got into Portland around 3 a.m. James was just coming off an All-Star Weekend in which he had to sit out the game due to foot and ankle discomfort.
But one night after playing 38 minutes in the Lakers’ loss to the Charlotte Hornets, LeBron was back on the court playing. And not only was he playing, but he was the best player on the floor, dropping 40 points with eight rebounds and four assists in the Lakers’ bounce-back win over Portland.
When asked about what continues to drive him at this stage of career, playing heavy minutes in a February back-to-back, James had a simple answer, via Dan Woike of the L.A. Times:
“Because I still love the game and I still got a lot to give to the game, to give to my teammates, to give to this league for while I’m here,” James said. “I don’t have much time left. So, while I’m here today in this time, I’m going to try to give what I got when I’m out on the floor. So, why? It’s the love of the game and I have an opportunity now to show my son the ranks of how to be a professional in this league. And to be along [with] him every single day, that’s a treat.”
James scored 40 points as a 40-year-old for the second time, which is an NBA record. The only other player to do so was Michael Jordan and he only did it once.
LeBron has now played in 1,542 career games, which passed Vince Carter for the third-most all-time behind only Robert Parish (1,611) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). This type of longevity is truly unprecedented as not only is James continuing to play, but he is still one of the best and most available players in the league in his 22nd season.
LeBron James expects to manage foot issue for remainder of season
Arguably what makes LeBron James’ performance in the Lakers’ win over the Trail Blazers so impressive is that he did it while managing his foot issue, which he said will be the case for the remainder of the season.
“JJ talked about it yesterday,” LeBron said. “It’s gonna be something that we gotta manage for the rest of the season and going into the postseason. But I was happy I was able to get some days off and kind of be around the clock and make sure I was available for tonight.”
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