When Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were both ruled out ahead of Round 1’s Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets playoff matchup, many had written off the purple and gold.
But LeBron James pulled off another unthinkable playoff victory, defeating the Rockets in six games.
Of course, the Rockets only had superstar Kevin Durant for one game this series. But James only had Reaves for one game, and new reports indicate that Doncic isn’t anywhere near a return for the Lakers.
“I’m kicking (Father Time’s) ass,” James told the Prime Video studio crew following Game 6.
He’s not wrong.
James averaged 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against the Rockets in the first round. Without Doncic and Reaves, James proved that he’s still capable of winning in the NBA Playoffs almost singlehandedly. The 41-year-old averaged 38.7 minutes per game in this series.
We’ve never seen longevity like this in the history of the NBA.
Until the end of time, basketball fans will debate if James was better than Michael Jordan, who won six championships and was undefeated in the NBA Finals. But one thing that’s not up for debate is that Jordan was not doing this. At 41, Jordan was retired. He took on a management position with the Washington Wizards and only served a few seasons as President of Basketball Operations.
At 41, James isn’t playing a Udonis Haslam role for the Lakers. This isn’t an old man at the end of his career holding onto the glory days. Sure, it might be an old man at the end of his career. But even though James isn’t the same player that dragged teams to eight consecutive NBA Finals, he’s playing some damn good basketball and looks to have a lot more in the tank.
His actual son is playing meaningful minutes in this series, as Bronny James has gotten some run due to Doncic’s absence. Around the NBA, “great” teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are struggling against lower-seeded opponents. At 41, James is dragging an undermanned Lakers team through the first round somewhat easily.
After a reverse dunk earlier in the series, James said he “needed to sit down somewhere.” After handling business against the Rockets in six games, James thanked the Toronto Raptors for forcing a Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, buying the Lakers an extra day of rest.
There’s no denying that James is probably physically dealing with the taxes of playing elite basketball into his 40s. But hopefully he understands how much this greatness is being appreciated from basketball fans everywhere.
What’s next for LeBron?
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the No. 1 seed in the NBA, await James and the Lakers.
It’s a good thing Reaves is back, because the Thunder will pose more of a challenge than the Durant-less Rockets did.
Even if the Thunder take down the Lakers, LeBron’s future in the NBA will be under a microscope. Recent reports have indicated that he doesn’t want to deal with the pressure of a farewell tour. However, he just displayed that he’s capable of playing at a very high level. He has nothing left to prove, but walking away from the game now would somehow feel premature, even at age 41.
Prediction markets like Kalshi are giving the Thunder a 91% chance of winning this series. A contract on Los Angeles to upset this series would payout 10.4x the initial stake.
But if James has one more miracle in him, this could be a series for the ages. Literally.
