Lakers 132-123 Rockets
On December 29, Beijing time, the battle between the Lakers and the Rockets lasted in the last 35.1 seconds, and LeBron James was sent to the free throw line by the opponent's foul tactics, and two free throws were steadily hit to seal the victory.
With these two free throws, James's score for this game reached 32 points, and his career regular season total scores also exceeded the 36,000 point mark (36,001 points), becoming the third and youngest "Mr. 36,000 points" in NBA history.
James, who is just one day away from turning 37, still maintains unparalleled dominance in the 19th season of his career, as if the years have never left a mark on him, as if he will never get old.
True C bit old Zhan, real C bit performance
On October 30, 2003, LeBron James, who debuted as the "Chosen Son," completed his first career performance in Sacramento, scoring his first point in the NBA with a jump shot from 16 feet away, when he was only 18 years and 303 days old.
In the blink of an eye, 18 years have passed, James has grown from a rookie to an emperor superstar, during which he has experienced countless ups and downs, faced various challenges, and the way forward has never stopped.
Today's game, looking to turn 37 at the age of James, ushered in a new test: due to Anthony Davis' long-term suspension due to injury, Howard and Jordan Jr., two centers seriously compressed space, the Lakers were forced to helpless, sent out the 19th set of starters of the season - from the beginning of the game to pose the limit five small, 6 feet 8 James, appeared in the starting center position. For the first time in his 19-year career, it was the first time in the world.
James, one of the most well-rounded players in history, has the ability to go from one to five, and earlier this season, the Lakers also tried to let him lead the five small lineups in the lineup transition section. Against the Bulls, Lakers acting coach Fitzdale even made a rare adjustment in the second half, abandoning the center and letting James top the fifth position. Being able to play as a center from the start of the game is an unprecedented experience for James.
It's hard to imagine a player who has played 1598 games (regular season + playoffs) and will have to be forced to adapt to a new position, but this is the current situation of the Lakers - they have lost five consecutive games, they can't afford another loss, can only try a few possibilities, and regain the feeling of winning.
[Star] James vs Rockets Highlights
So James didn't say a word, immediately accepted the challenge, and won the inevitable victory for the team with a near-perfect performance.
Frankly speaking, the Lakers' alternative lineup is not perfect. Especially on the defensive end, although James tried his best and staged a wonderful chase hat in the third quarter, they still let their opponents shoot down 123 points.
But at least on the offensive end, the Lakers found the feeling. In this game, the Lakers scored 20+ points for four people on the whole team, especially Lao Zhan's performance was the most dazzling - he shot 11 of 19 shots, including 5 shots 3 outside the three-point line, staged a variety of difficult goals in the game, big heart three points, explosive dunk performance, the last 1 minute 40 seconds to score 10 points, directly kill the game!
In the end, the Lakers bombed a new season-high 132 points, and James, in addition to scoring to lead the team, also attached 11 rebounds and 11 assists, completing a 30+ triple-double, such a performance, it is difficult not to love.
In fact, despite the Lakers' recent struggles, James has never disappointed: This game is James' fifth consecutive game to score 30+, and in these five games, he averaged 34.4 points, 10 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, all five games, shooting more than 50%!
Seeing that he has turned 37 years old, Old Zhan not only appeared in the "C position", but also played the performance of the real "C position", leading the lakers who were trapped in all kinds of difficulties to complete a gorgeous performance that had not been seen for a long time.
36000 points, the best birthday gift
Some people say that when a person is older, a birthday is no longer a day to celebrate, because it means that you are one year old again.
But in life, you will always encounter some "monsters", as if immune to time, let the years change, still young. Take LeBron James, for example.
In the history of the NBA, there are some legendary names that are often associated with "evergreens", such as "Sky Hook" Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar, who has been selected as an All-Star 19 times, Robert Parrish, who has played in 1611 regular season games, and Vince Carter, whose career spanned 4 "decades".
But when it comes to the most "enduring" players of all time, perhaps no one deserves a name better than LeBron James. As an active player who is still fighting on the field, James is not the oldest player in the league and the player who has played the most battles, but in the 19th season of his career, there is no one who can play such a performance in the entire history of the NBA.
James became famous at a young age, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in high school, and locked in the top show early. In 2003, he turned out to be 18 years old, and his rookie season had an average of 20+5+5 per game, he was selected as an All-Star in the second year of his career, selected as a team of the year in the third year, led the team to the Finals in the fourth year, and won the league scoring king with an average of 30 points per game in the fifth season of entering the league...
James has never been a pure scorer like Jordan and Kobe, and defending, grabbing rebounds, and organizing offense are all important parts of his game content. But even so, he still set almost all the youngest score-related records in the history of the league, including: the youngest "Mr. 1000", "Mr. 2000", "Mr. 3000"... "Mr. 10000", "Mr. 20000", "Mr. 30000", etc., until today's "Mr. 36000".
James, who hangs so many "young" titles, is now a veritable "veteran" in terms of both the age of the ball and the actual age. Born on December 30, 1984, he will turn 37 in less than 24 hours.
Most of the players who entered the league in the same year as James have long since retired, and some have even become head coaches in the NBA (Luke Walton, Willie Green), and only Cameron Anthony is still around to fight for the championship with him. But even Guago once faded out of the league, and now he only holds a basic salary contract to play the residual heat. Only James, still maintaining the level of the league's top superstar, can not but be said to be a miracle.
In fact, James' 30+ triple-double today is his fifth time since turning 35. While playing a 30+ triple-double at the age of 35, there have only been two times in the entire NBA history except James (Kobe Bryant, who was 36 years and 99 days old, and Larry Bird, who was 35 years and 99 days old).
In other words, James, who is about to turn 37, today set a new record for the oldest time in NBA history to play 30+ triple-doubles. And the scariest part is that in his current state, this record will continue to be refreshed by himself.
If a person does not obey the old, then the birthday is only joy. And today's breakthrough career of 36,000 points is the best birthday gift that James gave himself.
Crazy old Zhan, how far away is it from the historical scoring king?
After scoring his career 36,001st point today, LeBron James is one step closer to the NBA's all-time scoring champion.
At present, the top two in the NBA's historical scoring list are still "Skyhook" Jabbar (38387 points) and Carl Malone (36928 points), of which James is 2386 points away from "Sky Hook" and only 927 points are left from Malone.
According to statistics, of the 36,001 points James currently has, 14,358 points are from the restricted zone (basket points), 2220 points are from the paint outside the restricted zone, 5624 points are from the mid-range jumper, and 6120 points are from three-pointers and 7679 points are from free throws.
Judging from the development trajectory of James's career shot distribution, he has significantly increased his outside shooting in recent seasons. Especially this season, with the addition of Westbrook, the Lakers' space problems have become more severe than ever, and James has had to adjust his playing style and shoot more outside the three-point line, averaging 7.6 shots and 2.6 shots per game so far, all career highs.
Today's game, James was arranged to serve as the starting center, and it remains to be seen whether the Lakers will continue this arrangement. But even if he plays five, more changes will mainly occur on the defensive end, and James will be asked to guard the basket more, which is a good thing for him. In this way, he will avoid going to the outside line to catch up with the opposing flanks, saving the physical strength to stay on the offensive end.
In the attack, James will give a considerable part of the organizational work to Wei Shao, and he is more responsible for receiving the ball and directly attacking. Considering the Lakers' formation combination, as well as today's on-court performance, James will still take a large number of three-point shots, and lose no time in catching the ball and rushing straight to the inside line. It's very helpful in maintaining his offensive efficiency.
In fact, James' 61.4 percent true shooting percentage this season is the best performance since joining the Lakers, and he can also rank fifth in his entire career, after the performance in the Heat and Cavaliers' peak seasons.
Counting today's game, James has averaged 27.4 points per game this season, according to which he still needs 34 games to surpass Malone and 87 games to complete the overtaking of the sky hook.
While maintaining an average of 27.4 points per game is a near-impossible task for a veteran who is about to turn 37, it's really hard to rule out any possibility for James.
What's more, James' career is far from coming to an end, as he said in a post-game interview: "I know I'm over the top, but I still maintain a high level of competition." So now, I don't want to talk much about retirement. It's my 19th season and I certainly won't play another 19 seasons. But as long as I'm physically and mentally full, I can keep playing. ”
James, who is 37 years old soon, still looks energetic, and surpassing the sky hook is obviously not the end for him.