LeBron James cements status as an all-time Lakers great in Game 4 win

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night in a massively important Game 4. While the job is not finished, the outcome of Game 4 is going to end up having massive implications for the rest of the series.

It was a dogfight that required an overtime period but at the end of the day the Lakers were able to take care of business, defeating the Grizzlies 117-111. Los Angeles now leads the series three games to one and has a great chance of advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Crazily enough, this is only the second home playoff game LeBron James has ever played in front of a full Lakers crowd (the first being on Saturday night). LeBron definitely rose to the occasion in the contest, making the game-tying layup to send the game to overtime, where he would subsequently take over.

LeBron finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists, becoming the first Laker since the great Shaquille O’Neal to put up a 20-point, 20-rebound game in the playoffs. So much for being an old man, eh Dillon Brooks?

LeBron James cements his status as an all-time Lakers great in Game 2.

LeBron James signing with the Lakers back in 2018 was an interesting move. While he was still the best player in the league, LeBron was not instantly welcomed fully in LA as he was always viewed as a rival of Kobe Bryant.

But over time LeBron has won over the fanbase, giving them a championship in 2020 to cheer for. He still never did it in front of a full Lakers crowd and that is exactly what he did on Monday night. LeBron might be 38 years old but he blew the roof off the place with a vintage showing.

Not every Lakers fan may agree but LeBron has cemented his place as one of the best players in franchise history (if he wasn’t already). Heck, he has spent more time in Los Angeles than he has in Miami. Pretending like he isn’t an all-time great is silly.

His place as a top-10 Laker of all time might already be cemented and if he can lead the Lakers to another championship in 2023 then he will climb even higher on the list.