It’s year 18 in the NBA for LeBron James and he’s still shown no signs of slowing down. Typically, when athletes reach age 36, they aren’t the best player in their sport anymore. However, it appears that LeBron is still at the top of the NBA.
On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic, who is one of the front runners for MVP this season. The Lakers won, 114-93, and LeBron completely outclassed Jokic. He scored 27 points with 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Jokic only had 13 points, which was his lowest scoring output of the season.
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green must have been watching the game as he was mind blown at just how good LeBron is right now.
Yo why is @KingJames still getting better… how? 🤯🤯🤯
It doesn’t make a lot of sense why LeBron is this good right now, with averages of 25.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists. It just shows the level of dedication he has put into basketball. At this pace, the superstar could be an elite player for several more years. He’s shown absolutely no indication that he’s going to slow down anytime soon.
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LeBron Passes Wilt Chamberlain on Field Goals List
The longer LeBron plays, the more records he’s going to own. Right now, he appears to be on a quest to become the top scorer in NBA history. On Thursday, LeBron passed Wilt Chamberlain to take the third spot on the all-time field goals made list with his 12,691st field goal.
“The association with a legend like Wilt Chamberlain, that does something for me. I’m someone who grew up reading about the game, studying the game,” LeBron said Thursday. “Wilt obviously was a big staple of that. It’s very humbling.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sits atop the list with 15,837 field goals list and Karl Malone is second with 13,528. It’s likely LeBron will pass Malone soon but he’s going to need a few more years in the league if he’s going to sniff Abdul-Jabbar’s record.
Dwyane Wade Believes LeBron Is Playing Best Basketball
It’s wild enough that LeBron is still playing at an elite level but he might be getting even better. Former LeBron teammate on the Miami Heat Dwyane Wade had some more insight on the topic.
“Now I watch his game and I say, ‘Does he have a weakness in his game?'” Wade said. “It starts from the rim all the way back to half court. He can do everything. Let’s take it all the way back from the rebound. He does everything now. … He’s shooting in the high 40s now and his range is out to the logo. You know midrange, he can post you up, face you up. Still going to dunk on you. His ability to see the floor is so much better now because he’s seen every coverage. … I feel like this is the best LeBron I’ve ever seen.”
It’s hard to imagine that he’s somehow getting better but it’s also hard to argue against the notion. LeBron is playing defense at a very high level while also putting up a lot of points. If he keeps up this pace, he’ll still be an All-Star when he’s 40.
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Draymond Green Poses Eye-Opening LeBron James Question