Now LeBron James gets second billing at MSG to Knicks' Jalen Brunson
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson, left, and the Lakers' LeBron James. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke; AP
There was little chance — despite the cryptic status, the diagnosis of left ankle peroneal tendinopathy and the fact that he sat out in street clothes in Boston on Thursday — that LeBron James was not going to be in the lineup for the Lakers on Saturday in a prime-time showcase at Madison Square Garden.
Nearing the end — but not there yet — of his 21-year career, James is not on a farewell tour, but he still was intent on taking it all in at the Garden, never knowing when it might be the last dance. And as expected, when the game tipped off, he was on the Garden floor again.
“It’s the Mecca of basketball, one of the most prestigious arenas to play in in the history of sports,” James said after the Lakers’ Saturday morning shootaround at Nike Headquarters. “For me to be able to grace that floor throughout my career has always been a treat.
“At this point in my career for sure, I’ll probably get an opportunity to be in the lineup and play here. Especially at the latter stage of my career, I definitely don’t take it for granted.”
And even though the arena is always speckled with fans of all ages adorned in James jerseys of various incarnations — Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles — there is no James jersey in the blue and orange of the Knicks, outside of fevered photoshop dreams. And now he no longer is the star attraction in the city.
For a night, James did it one more time. There would be no 60-point night, but he did enough with 24 points in 40 minutes to help the Lakers snap the Knicks’ winning streak at nine games, 113-105.
With the Knicks shorthanded, the Lakers relentlessly sent double teams at Jalen Brunson, trying to pry the ball from his hands. He still scored 36 points, but the Knicks’ shooting was off-target all night, and they went nearly seven minutes without a point until the final 39 seconds.
James has been the star wherever he has been. He remains an anomaly, playing at a level astonishing for his age through all of the wear and tear, averaging 24.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game. But he arrived with a Lakers team still boasting star power but just a .500 record, barely even in the play-in picture. And it is Brunson who has captured the back pages of the papers and the hearts of New York fans.
The first time he touched the ball Saturday night, Brunson saw James coming to double- team him and blew by him. But James still showed the flashes familiar to anyone who has watched him — a steal leading to a windmill dunk, a reverse layup that no one his age should even be attempting on a playground.
Their fates have crossed in odd ways that maybe neither one expected or barely remembers. Brunson was in Houston for an All-Star Weekend in 2006 when his father was playing for the Rockets and had his picture taken with James — no big deal for a 10-year-old who’d grown up in NBA locker rooms.
Harder to forget was James’ flirtation with the Knicks as a free agent in 2010, organizing (with the help of his then-agent, Leon Rose, and adviser, William Wesley) a made-for-TV event at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich — not far from the Knicks’ training facility — to announce “The Decision,” breaking hearts all over New York as he revealed he was heading to South Beach.
Before taking the court in the morning, they acknowledged the respect and admiration they have for each other. But to get to where both are, they take the court with blinders on to history or the past, intent only on winning.
Brunson said he “for sure” has respect for James “off the court,” adding: “I feel like once you get on the court, you’re gonna have to compete. You can acknowledge, you can respect the legacy and what they’ve done throughout their career, but once the ball is in the air, you just have to go out there and compete.
“The things he’s been able to do, it’s been nothing short of spectacular, nothing sort of remarkable. Everything he’s done has been legendary. And I respect the hell out of him. But when we go out on the court . . . we gotta go out there and just compete against the Lakers tonight.’’
When James tweeted an hourglass emoji after another bad loss in Atlanta this past week, conspiracy theorists and wishful thinkers started a furious round of conjecture that maybe he is looking for an exit from Los Angeles, seeking a team with a chance to win it all. And yes, New York entered the conversation before his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN there would be no trade request and no trade.
“During my free-agency period in 2010, it was one of the teams that I looked at,” James said of the thought of playing for the Knicks. “So I’ve had that thought in my career.”
But it never came to be, and now it’s Brunson’s team. And James is fine with that.
“Jalen’s phenomenal,” he said. “Super-happy for him, super-proud of him, you know, first-time All-Star. Seeing his emotion after the last game, I think that’s super-cool. Very humble kid. I played against Rick as well. So you know it’s kind of weird in that sense. Rick is a super-down-to-earth great guy as well and he’s raised an unbelievable son . . . it’s super-cool.”
And as unlikely as it may be — calculate the odds when that picture was taken 18 years ago — Brunson, undersized, unheralded, is doing what the greatest player of the generation cannot do, dragging his team to wins.
“The dude is an All-Star,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “He’s having an MVP-caliber season. He should be the player of the month this month. The dude’s doing everything he possibly can for us to win games. It’s not easy right now with Julius going down, OG going down, Mitch not being here. Everything’s been thrown against us and he’s still willing us to win.”
With James having a player option in his contract and a desire to play on with his son Bronny beside him, who knows what the future holds? Stranger things have happened, but for now, it seems as if James finally is the sideshow at the Garden after decades in the spotlight.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
