LeBron James is three weeks away from turning 39 years of age, but he’s playing about as well as ever. In particular, he has played some brilliant basketball in the first NBA in-season tournament.
In the quarterfinal round on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, he had 31 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in a 106-103 win. Then on Thursday in Las Vegas versus the New Orleans Pelicans, he rang up 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line plus eight assists with no turnovers in a 133-89 beat down.
James has often led his team in several major statistical categories, sometimes for entire seasons. But on Thursday, he became the first player to ever lead both teams in points, assists, field-goal percentage, 3-point shooting accuracy, free throw percentage and free throw attempts while also having the fewest turnovers in a single game. Even better, he did all that in just 23 minutes of play.
Most PTS on either team
Most AST on either team
Best FG% on either team
Best 3P% on either team
Best FT% on either team
Most FTA on either team
Fewest TO on either teamThat's what the @Lakers' LeBron James did today, the 1st time an NBA player has ever done so (including ties). pic.twitter.com/IBTNoRmWwV
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) December 8, 2023
Thanks to James’ inspired play, the Lakers will compete for the NBA Cup on Saturday against the high-scoring Indiana Pacers.
