On Wednesday, Lakers forward LeBron James will do what so many of us are looking forward to doing this week—turn the page on another year. In his case, though, it will be putting his 35th year behind him as he turns 36. Do not, however, expect much of a raucous celebration from the Lakers star.
The Lakers will be in San Antonio Wednesday night to play the Spurs and will spend the following night in San Antonio, as well. They play the Spurs again on the road on Friday night.
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Big plans? Uh, no. As fellow star Anthony Davis explained:
There’s not much that we really can do because of all the rules and restrictions. We’ve seen guys kind of violate those restrictions and have to sit out, so we definitely don’t want to violate any rules and have guys have to sit out or quarantine because of something that we can control. I don’t know, I am pretty sure the team or coach will have something planned where we can do something in the hotel for him, maybe have some food catered in, I don’t know. Something they probably would do for him. You do got to be creative but at the same time, stay within the guidelines.
Anthony Davis on what they’ll do to celebrate LeBron’s 36th birthday on Weds: “There’s not much we really can do because of all the rules and restrictions. We’ve seen guys violate those restrictions and have to sit out. We definitely don’t want to violate any rules…”
LeBron James Held a Lakers Team Party in Los Angeles Last Year
Last year, James threw himself a last-minute birthday party, with the help of his wife, Savannah, at Sunset Towers in Los Angeles as a bonding event for the Lakers, which still had a fairly new roster at the time. He was photographed in a black suit with a black bowtie, smoking a cigar.
He was also, at that time, ringing out the past decade and reflected on what he learned over that time period.
“I was 25 [at the start of the decade], and I would hope when you turn 35, you’ve made a lot of change,” James said when asked to reflect on the past decade. “I’ve learned a lot not only about myself, who I wanted to become along that way, but what I wanted to stand for the last 10 years.”
This year, the Lakers are playing on his birthday night, but he is OK with that — he’s just happy to still be around, playing.
LeBron James on playing on his 36th birthday Wednesday: “Coming from where I come from, a lot of people don’t even make it past 21.”
Back when he was in his first season in Miami, James created a stir when it was revealed that his 26th birthday party was looking for sponsors. Dubbed the “Full Court Birthday Celebration,” the party had its own marketing firm which used a 12-page presentation and promised a guest list that included, “Athletes, Models and Musicians. As well as political figures, socialites, tastemakers and affluent leaders from various industries including Art, Business and Finance.”
Sponsorships went from $10,000 to $500,000.
LeBron James Celebrated His 21st At House of Blues
Going back even further, when James turned 21 in Cleveland in 2005, he held a party at the House of Blues, just up the street from Quicken Loans Arena, where James was employed by the Cavaliers.
That party featured a performance by rapper Lil’ Wayne and 1,000 attendees. James showed up in a white suit, driving his Rolls Royce.
Safe to say, this will go down as one of the more tempered birthday bashes in James’ 17 years in the NBA. He’s 36 and we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, though, so that is probably a good thing.
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LeBron James’ Lakers 36th Birthday Bash: ‘Not Much We Can Do’