He is a legend and no record is going to change that consideration. But it is the brands that help remember how great an athlete can be. There was no need to LeBron James will reach 40,000 points to shore up his status as one of the best basketball players of all time. In any case, the round, perfect number is a good excuse to once again describe the uniqueness of its condition. To understand the supremacy that he imposed in his time.
The Los Angeles Lakers player reached the mark in the fall against Denver Nuggets by 124-114. He made 26 points and reached a total of 40,017. The result, defeat, is the least of it. The most admirable thing is that she still has reserves at 39 years old. That he can carry the team on his back and take it to compete on an equal footing with the current NBA champion.
At the end of his career, when he has achieved everything, the king feels that he still has things to give. What motivates great people to pursue excellence even when nothing they do will be superior to what they have already achieved? The answer is the same passion and stubbornness that got them up there in the first place.
What remains of LeBron James’ basketball life is destined to polish details, to indulge himself. To decorate in the best possible way a career that already seems perfect.
The moment in which the King finds himself is very special. On the one hand, in this same season, he became champion of the first In Season Tournament (the NBA Cup), and won the MVP award of the contest. Of course it is a minor title. But it’s yours. The first of all time, and has his name inscribed for posterity. On the other hand, his team showed marked irregularity after that conquest. His quest, now, is to recover the level to give himself one more chance to search for a ring. Although that seems unlikely today.
Simultaneously, he has already publicly said that he hopes to be able to play next year in the NBA with his son, LeBron Raymone James Jr, or Bronny, as everyone knows him. The young man, 19 years old, suffered a heart problem that limited his possibilities and even caused specialists to remove him from the list of predictions for the 2024 Draft and postpone it to 2025. It would be a blow for the family.
LeBron assured that he would sign a contract with any team that chose his son in the Draft. But if no one selects him, could he retire? The truth is the temptation to choose Bronny, even if he is not ready for the NBA, in order to guarantee the presence of James, is an exercise in reasoning that will be tempting for many franchises. Fundamentally because the level of the Ohio player is far above someone who is very close to 40. His performance, his personality and his influence on the game are still those of a player who can support a team with the intention of fighting. for a title. He made a cult out of physical preparation. He was blessed by the absence of serious injuries. He extended his “prime” for two decades. He broke all imagined limits.
No one at his age played so many minutes per game on average (35) at this level. He didn’t even score that much (25.3). But he also has average rebounds (7.1) and assists (7.9) that are not even reached by more than two or three superstars of the moment and in physical prime in their careers, such as Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Joel Embiid.
That’s all? No. After the poor fourth place that the United States team occupied in the World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines last year, he promised that he would participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics to take his nation back to the top. She already won the gold medal in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. But she wants to add one more. And after her statement the best ones folded. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Jason Tatum, Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday have already guaranteed their participation. It will also have the nationalization of Cameroonian Joel Embiid. The team will be led by Steve Kerr and Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are also expected to join. Another Dream Team.
You have to look at the list of players who had already fallen behind among the top scorers of all time: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643) and Michael Jordan (32,292).
What follows is to detach yourself from them a little more. Because it doesn’t matter if they are 40,017, 40,018, 40,019… Greatness is not measured by those numbers. And what remains is something that has no exact words to describe it. But they include the emotion, the desire to compete, the adrenaline of winning. And the moments that will be treasured in that experience: playing with your son, dressing in the colors of your country once again, dreaming of winning another ring…
It’s quite a record: 40,000. But they are only the points. LeBron James’ real value cannot be contained by numbers. It goes much further. In its substance there are unique, incomparable components. That is why his actions are destined to be perpetuated and the sporting battles that he fought on each court will be legendary.
The moment LeBron reached 40,000 points
The match summary
Themes
Other NBA news
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Monday’s TV. Lautaro Martínez’s Inter plays, Arsenal in the Premier League and more action in the League Cup
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Sunday TV. Boca, San Lorenzo, City vs. United, Báez’s final in Chile and the definition of the Argentina Golf Open
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