LeBron James declared the remaining 23 regular season games are the ‘most important’ of his illustrious career as he looks to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA playoffs.
James recently surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer, dropping 38 against the Oklahoma City Thunder to move past the legend’s total of 38,387. The Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers icon had been atop the career points list since April 5 1984 - eight months before James was even born - when he passed the mark previously held by Wilt Chamberlain.
The 38-year-old has won four NBA championships while reaching the NBA Finals an incredible 10 times during his iconic career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and the Lakers. James has made a record 19 appearances in the NBA All-Star Game, while he is a four-time MVP amid a number of individual accolades.
James and the Lakers missed the postseason last year, but the forward is adamant he cannot do the same this year. As a result, the Lakers ace is heaping pressure on himself and his teammates ahead of the final stretch.
“It's 23 of the most important games of my career, for a regular season,” James said before playing in the All-Star Game in Salt Lake City on Sunday. “It's the type of mindset that I have, and I hope the guys will have, coming back off the break.
“I want to make a push to make the playoffs. I don't want to see myself not being part of the postseason for two years straight. It's just not part of my DNA.
“We're sitting up here talking about the [scoring] record and things of that nature, and that's all cool, but I'm more passionate about trying to make the postseason and give ourselves a chance to compete for another Larry O'Brien Trophy. That's just who I am. That's what I'm cut from.”
The Lakers own a 27-32 record while they sit a lowly 13th in the Western Conference. They are two games behind the Thunder for the final play-in spot, as well as four and a half games behind the Dallas Mavericks, who added Kyrie Irving to Luka Doncic ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.
Los Angeles made a few moves of their own prior to the deadline, with D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt joining via a mega trade that send former MVP Russell Westbrook and his monster contract out of town. The Lakers also traded for Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards late last month.
James is confident the roster can make a run in the regular season to clinch a playoff berth - and he backs the Lakers’ chances if they make it to the do-or-die postseason. He added: “I've always been confident in any club that I've been on once we got into the playoffs that we can compete with anyone, and I feel no different now.
“With the roster the way we're shaped up right now, if we can finish off this regular season on the right foot, then we can compete versus anyone in the Western Conference, if not the whole league. ... If we can punch our ticket, we can compete versus anyone.”
James’ Lakers face the Golden State Warriors in their next game on Thursday night. The 29-29 Warriors - who won the 2022 NBA championship against the Boston Celtics - sit in the ninth seed of the Western Conference, two and a half games ahead of Los Angeles.
