In the history of the NBA, 31 players have scored at least one point in a regular-season game following their 40th birthday.
The number of players to do so at 41 is only eight; Los Angeles Lakers icon LeBron James on Tuesday night will become the ninth.
In yet another marker of his longevity and greatness, James will celebrate his birthday on Tuesday, Dec. 30 on the hardcourt, in a nationally broadcast home game against the Detroit Pistons. James is the singular talent of this era. His play, naturally, is in decline. Yet, regardless of the nightly emotion and angst that surrounds his performances, James is reimagining the standard of production for someone his age. Put another way: he’s doing things that have never been done.
“I’m in a battle with (Father Time),” he told reporters Sunday, Dec. 28. “And I would like to say that I’m kicking his ass on the back nine.”
Though he might not have that explosive first step and though he’s playing a career-low 32.9 minutes per game, James is nonetheless averaging 20.5 points, 6.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds on a solidly efficient 50.7% shooting — figures that are striking for someone his age.
By comparison, before James turned 40 last season, the nightly averages for players after their 40th birthdays had been 6.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
“It is remarkable,” Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters on Monday, Dec. 29 after a Lakers practice. “I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and got to get an injection on my knee. My body is old and broken. It’s like that (saying) ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it,’ and once I stopped using it, I lost it all. I can still barely touch the rim, though, which is nice.”
This is another area where James has an advantage over pretty much every human. During his final game as a 40 year old — a 24-point victory Sunday over the Kings — James didn’t just touch the rim, he soared by it, throwing down a thunderous reverse dunk, two of his 24 points in the win.
Although Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the NBA record for most career points scored (1,941) by a player after turning 40, Abdul-Jabbar played in 156 such games.
Tuesday night against the Pistons, James will be playing in his 57th game since his 40th, and he already has 1,340 points since then, fourth all-time. And while many players only picked up spot minutes after the Big 4-0, James is playing a key role in Los Angeles, starting and carrying the team in non-Luka Dončić minutes.
James’ 23.9 points per game post-40 rank first all-time, just ahead of Michael Jordan’s 22.4.
Yet, this season has not been the smoothest for James. For one, he missed the entire preseason and the first 14 games of the year with a sciatica nerve issue. This marked the first time in his basketball career, going back to prep school, that he had missed any season opener.
Los Angeles won the first four games in which James played. Then, James had his record streak of consecutive games of double figures in scoring snapped at 1,297 — or nearly 19 years — though he did it on a play that exemplified his leadership: he passed up the would-be game-winning shot for the game-winning assist.
And, now, the Lakers are struggling through the worst stretch of their season, losing six of their last 11 and three of the last four, a stretch that prompted an “uncomfortable” team meeting.
A lot of it is fit and philosophy.
Since James has returned from his injury, the Lakers have struggled to find cohesion on the floor. He and star guard Luka Dončić both thrive when the ball is in their hands, and Redick has failed to create a structure that balances Dončić playing off the ball and James staying engaged and avoiding periods of deference.
“Since we’ve gotten Bron back, we haven’t been as organized offensively,” Redick told reporters Saturday, Dec. 27. “Too many random possessions. That’s on me.”
It’s also incumbent on Redick to solve the issue, because if the Lakers crash out — they currently rank fifth in the Western Conference at 20-10 — they will face an uncertain future this offseason with no established star to pair alongside Dončić.
Plenty of blame will also be heaped on James, unfairly or not.
There’s even a bloc of Lakers fans on social media who have been calling for James to be moved, which becomes unlikely, given that he has a no-trade clause.
The reality is Los Angeles is stuck with James for the rest of this season unless he asks to be dealt before the trading deadline (Feb. 5). The window to win is now, and the Lakers need to do what they can to maximize that; think coaching adjustments and complementary trades.
Because despite the massive contract and despite the constant second-guessing that comes with having him on the roster, James is giving the Lakers far more than what they should expect from someone his age.