LeBron James’ body language as of late shows that he’s more motivated and reinvigorated than ever. And the King is passing the eye test as much as the box score watch. On Thursday night, James had himself another incredible game, recording an eye-popping 42 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists in a 120-112 win for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Golden State Warriors.
At this point, if James came out and said that he wasn’t really 40 years of age, we would believe him. After all, no one else in the history of the NBA has remained this dominant this deep into their career. But the Lakers star is no mere mortal on the hardwood, and in so doing, he just accomplished another feat that serves to beef up his Hall of Fame-worthy resume even further.
According to StatMuse on X (formerly Twitter), the Lakers star became the first player in NBA history aged 30 years or older to record at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, five steals, and five threes in a single game — and he did so at age 40. James is the unparalleled longevity king in the NBA and arguably in professional sports (Tom Brady, however, has a strong case of his own.), and he somehow continues to be as productive in Year 21 of his career as he was in Year 2.
The level James has been playing at in recent games is phenomenal. And not only has he been giving it his all on the offensive side of the ball, a switch appears to have flipped within him on defense. Against the Warriors, James was clamping up on the perimeter, even deciding to draw a charge on one occasion.
With the Lakers revamping their roster over the past few days, there is no better time for James to set the tone and show that he means business in his continued pursuit of ring number five.
