When the dust clears, LeBron James continues to be something special
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James reacts after dunking against the Washington Wizards during the second half of an NBA game Thursday in Washington. Credit: AP/Jess Rapfogel
His night began the way they all do now.
A minute before the Lakers tipped off against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, LeBron James walked to the scorer’s table. With every fan in the vicinity raising their cellphones and pointing them in his direction, James reached down, shook a container of chalk on his hands and tossed it in the air.
A mainstay of his game preparation for a good part of the past 22 seasons, James powder toss is part theater and part battle cry. And there’s no battle that James gets up for more than taking on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, as he again showed Saturday night.
James is a decade older than any player on the Knicks. That didn’t stop him from putting on a spectacular show on national television en route to leading the Lakers to a 128-112 win over a Knicks team that had won five straight.
“This is 40!” James yelled toward the sideline after dribbling between Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges to land a dunk. “I caught my second wind when I woke up this morning. Now you know I’m good.”
“Good’’ is a severe understatement. James picked up his 10th triple-double of the season, finishing with 33 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
“It’s always special coming into this building,” James said after the game. “We know it. It’s the Mecca of basketball. It’s probably the greatest basketball arena in the world. For us to come here and showcase our talent a bit, it’s always a blessing.
“The fans here have always treated me with respect and I always tried to give it back to them. I understand the history of this building and so many people have come through this building. So many athletes, musicians, artists, whatever the case might be. I’ve been a part of Madison Square Garden in my 20-plus years. Just try to give back to them.”
No one knows when James will decide to call it quits. He’s achieved everything he set out to achieve and perhaps even more. He’s won four NBA championships with three different teams, he’s been named the MVP four times and he’s even gotten the opportunity to play with his son Bronny, though that hasn’t always gone so well.
One of the most impressive things James has accomplished, however, is still happening this season. More often than not, it is painful to watch a great player on the downside of his career. James, however, is playing at an incredibly high level and has his team playing at an incredibly high level.
James is much more Tom Brady than Aaron Rodgers. Two decades in, he’s still an All-Star, he’s still a leader and he’s still as competitive as ever.
Not only did he enter Saturday night’s nationally televised game averaging 23.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists, but he also has his team contending. The Lakers are 28-19.
“It’s unbelievable. I don’t know, what is he, 41, I think? Or about 41? I mean, I think the game shouldn’t take those guys for granted,” Josh Hart said after the game. “He’s talking about the end. And Steph and KD, all those older statesmen. They’re all playing at a high level. They’re linked [throughout their careers]. It speaks to their work ethic. The game and the fans shouldn’t take them for granted.”
Said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau: “I think it speaks to who he is and his career of 21 years to do it the way he’s done it. Everywhere he’s been, if he’s on the team, they’re a threat. They always have a chance . . . Just the way he can bring out the best not only of himself but everyone around him.”
Like Brady, James’ longevity has a lot to do with meticulous preparation and discipline. It includes a regimented game-day routine that begins with a morning cold-tub treatment in which he dips his body into icy water 10 to 15 times and ends with his powder toss.
Yet a basketball career is not infinite. And after watching James begin his game this way for more than two decades, many of those pointing their phone cameras at him Saturday night had to be wondering if this was the last time they would see his chalk cloud rise toward the rafters at Madison Square Garden.
If it was, they got their money’s worth.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
More New York Sports
