Los Angeles Lakers: 5 lessons from clinching first postseason berth in 7 years
By Ronald Agers
LeBron James sent a limo for the Milwaukee Bucks.
LeBron James has inserted himself in the MVP race with his scorching play as of late. This week, when the conversation of winning the MVP came up.
He said he didn’t care about the MVP but other things.
"“To be the best to ever play the game has motivated me and has resulted in me being able to be league MVP a couple times,” James said at Lakers’ practice Thursday. “But I’ve never gone into the season saying, ‘OK, league MVP is what I want to be.’ I’ve gone into the season saying, ‘OK, I want to be the MVP of this team. I want to be the best player in the world,’ and how I approach my game every day, how I take care of my body every day has resulted in that [award].” “In being the best in the world?” James said. “It’s just, I think it’s the games that I play, leadership, how my teammates feed off my presence and feed off my word. It’s so much more than, for me, being the best player in the world than just going out and doing it on the floor. I think leadership has a lot to do with it. Having a command. Holding yourself accountable. Allowing others to hold you accountable as well. So I have a lot of tiers to trying to be the best player in the world. It’s not just about the basketball side.”"
For the record, James leads the league in assists with 10.7 a game, while averaging 25.4 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Lakers going into the game against the Bucks. He is averaging over 30 points a game after the All-star break shooting an absurd 57 percent from the field.
He doesn’t care? Yeah right.
LeBron James sent a limo for the Milwaukee Bucks destroying them with 37 points, seven assists, eight rebounds and three steals. He scored 14 points in the third quarter to create distance for the Lakers. That’s not the story. Here’s why the man cares.
He challenged Antetokounmpo on defense with no fear, guarding for much of the second half and bullied his team to the finish line.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1236164699915317249
LeBron James has not played this type of defense since his Miami Heat days. Don’t waste your time in the comment section trying to say different. He hasn’t.
As for the offensive side of the ball, well let’s just say Jay-Z was impressed. Well like his song says from his iconic Reasonable Doubt album…Can’t Knock the Hustle.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1236152310054731776
Look, the MVP will belong to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Anyone that tries to push a narrative here doesn’t have a clue. It’s a wrap.
But, LeBron James has a checklist and has given out business cards to the supposed future of the NBA, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic and Trae Young, to the tune of 30-point triple-double averages.
In this game, LeBron James brought his team out and beat the brakes of his chief rival’s team.
Yes, Los Angeles Lakers fans. We like this LeBron James. Last year? Not so much.
Oh, by the way, LeBron found time to score his 34,000th career point during the game, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone as the only players to hit the mark.