Although the NBA usually lives holidays of feverish activity on December 25 and January 1 of each year, for some seasons another very special day was inserted between those two dates: the birth of one of the most brilliant players who has competed in that league . This Saturday, LeBron James will celebrate his 39th birthday on the floor of the Target Center in Minneapolis, where the Los Angeles Lakers will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It will be the 10th time James will play on his birthday. Last year he scored 47 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the Lakers’ 130-121 victory over Atlanta. He thus became the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 45 points at the age of 38 or older: they had done it before Michael Jordan (three times), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar y Jamal Crawford.
Only once had LeBron achieved a better record on December 30: in 2009, when he celebrated his 25th birthday, he had scored 48 points in Cleveland’s 106-101 victory over Atlanta.
Since that last celebration, a combo of joys, frustrations, sadness and records have seasoned the life of the eaves during the last revolution of the Earth around the Sun. But some things have not changed: the commitment to sport that he embraced when he was nine years old, his character hypercompetitivehe leadership that he exerts on his companions and the I respect that it generates in its opponents (players, coaches, supporters).
In this last year, the player born in Akron and educated at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School became the leading scorer in the NBA regular season: He achieved it on February 7, with the 38 points he scored in a 133-130 loss for the Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which allowed him to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points and thus add another mark to his career.
He is also the all-time leader in points, wins and games played in the NBA playoffs, and is the only player to win Finals MVP with three different teams: Cleveland, Miami y Los Angeles Lakers.
But 2023 also gave him a hard sports slap in the face in May, when the Lakers suffered a brutal 4-0 defeat in the Western Conference final against Denver, the eventual NBA champion. After the last game of that series, in which he scored 40 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and delivered 9 assists, King James suggested that setback could mark the end of his career.
“At this point in my career I don’t play for anything other than winning championships. We’ll see what happens later. I have to think if I want to continue playing,” he launched on May 22 and surprised everyone present in the conference room at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
A long period of rest and reflection meant that the possibility of retirement was shelved. Therefore, after traveling an extensive path that began in 2003, when he was 18 years old and was selected as number one in the draft through Cleveland without having gone through college, James disputes its 21st season in the most competitive league on the planet. Only five other men reached that mark: Kevin Willis, Robert Parish, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter, who holds the record with 22 seasons.
In the first stretch of the season, in which the Lakers have not quite found their footing, LeBron and his teammates had the pleasure of keeping the first edition of the In-Season Tournament, a new cup format tournament that the NBA implemented this year. The forward was decisive in both the semifinal against New Orleans and in the final against Indiana and was named the MVP of the contest.
“I only have one word to define LeBron: extraordinary. It is a blessing to know that you are on the same side as him,” his coach, Darvin Ham, praised him in those days. His teammates also highlighted the importance of the veteran to the team. “He looks healthy, fresh, in good spirits. He is never in a bad mood, he is always smiling, joking, laughing. When a player like him acts like that, it is a very positive boost in the locker room.”, highlighted Austin Reaves, one of the young people on the squad.
At 39 years old, the winner of four NBA titles (in 2012 and 2013 with Miami, in 2016 with Cleveland and in 2020 with the Lakers) and four-time MVP of the season (2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013) maintains a notable validity: averages 34.3 minutes and 25.4 points per game. Although little by little injuries and exhaustion begin to reduce his presence on the court: in none of the last three seasons has he reached 60 games in the regular season.
His early debut in the league and his durability have meant that in recent years James, who averaged more than 25 points in all his seasons in the NBA except the first (he registered 20.9), plays more and more often against his sons. of rivals he faced at the dawn of his career, such as Jabari Smith Jr, Jalen Brunson, KJ Martin, Jabari Walker, Gary Payton II or AJ Griffin.
He is getting closer and closer to the record of 1,611 games in the regular season that he holds Robert Parish: accumulates 1,450 and ranks eighth on the historical list (and first among active men).
Parish’s chance of reaching Parish’s mark will depend on how much thread remains on LeBron’s reel, a question only he has a good answer to. For now, beyond his voracity to win titles (he played his first NBA final at 22 years old and his last, until now, at 36), there are a couple of objectives on the list of the player who has a contract with the Lakers until 2025.
One of them is to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. If he does so, it would represent his fourth intervention in an event of this caliber: he was champion with his team in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and won the bronze medal in Athens 2004 (they lost in the semifinal against Argentina). In the United States there is already speculation about a team that would also include other stars such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum.
Another goal that James set for himself in the twilight of his career is to play in the NBA with Bronny, his eldest son, 19 years old, who three weeks ago debuted in the NCAA tournament with the Trojans, the University of Southern California team, in a game against Long Beach State. That day, LeBron and his other two children, Bryce and Zhuri, applauded wildly from one of the stands at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Bronny’s debut came just five months after he suffered cardiac arrest, the result of a congenital heart defect, during his team’s training session. That was one of the most difficult moments in the life of his father, who defined those days as “a whirlwind of emotions” for his family.
“No matter what is happening, the only thing that matters is family. Seeing what (Bronny) had to go through in recent months has been a lot. But the best thing is that we have each other,” said LeBron, who this Saturday will be able to celebrate his 39th birthday with his children, his wife Savannah and his mother Gloria Marie. And playing basketball, like for three decades.