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James turned 38 years old on Dec. 30, deep in his 20th season in the NBA. He celebrated by scoring 47 points on his birthday in Atlanta, and the second-leading scorer in league history has been on a vintage roll ever since.
James is averaging 37.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists for the Los Angeles Lakers in his seven games since turning 38. He has three 40-point performances in that stretch, including a season-high 48-point effort in a 140-132 victory over Houston on Monday night.
Older golfers take pride in shooting their age. James is nearly scoring his age against the best basketball players in the world — and even amid everything else James has done to redefine the parameters of greatness, his current surge is something special.
He's just been in an incredible rhythm, and it's showing," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA career scoring record while sometimes carrying the short-handed Lakers until Anthony Davis recovers from his latest major injury, and he's doing it all despite constant reminders of the advancement of time.
With increasing regularity, James is playing against the sons of players he faced earlier in his career, including Rockets youngsters Jabari Smith Jr. and Kenyon Martin Jr. on Monday.
"Hey, you played against my dad your first NBA game ever," Smith Jr. told James on the court in an exchange captured by NBA TV.
"It made me feel extremely old when Junior told me that," James said with a grin. "I think he even said it, like, 'You probably feel old.'"
Both Smith Sr. and Martin Sr. were in the crowd to watch their sons — and James' son, 18-year-old Bronny, goes to the same Los Angeles-area high school at which Martin Jr. played. James has also played against one of Bronny's former high school teammates, Memphis' Ziaire Williams.
"It's just a unique thing that I've been able to withstand the test of time for as long as I've been playing, to be able to compete now versus father-and-son combinations," James said.
Yet when Davis is healthy, the Lakers appear to be a postseason contender. That notion keeps James going, along with the innate fire in a player who has been driven to succeed from his first step onto an NBA court in Sacramento nearly two full decades ago.
"Ever since we made the trade for AD to bring him here, our whole thing was about health," James said. "That's not changed. We haven't had the best luck of health, I would say, especially this year. I can't tell you what I want out of this ballclub (without good health)."
James turned 38 years old on Dec. 30, deep in his 20th season in the NBA. He celebrated by scoring 47 points on his birthday in Atlanta, and the second-leading scorer in league history has been on a vintage roll ever since.
James is averaging 37.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists for the Los Angeles Lakers in his seven games since turning 38. He has three 40-point performances in that stretch, including a season-high 48-point effort in a 140-132 victory over Houston on Monday night.
Older golfers take pride in shooting their age. James is nearly scoring his age against the best basketball players in the world — and even amid everything else James has done to redefine the parameters of greatness, his current surge is something special.
He's just been in an incredible rhythm, and it's showing," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA career scoring record while sometimes carrying the short-handed Lakers until Anthony Davis recovers from his latest major injury, and he's doing it all despite constant reminders of the advancement of time.
With increasing regularity, James is playing against the sons of players he faced earlier in his career, including Rockets youngsters Jabari Smith Jr. and Kenyon Martin Jr. on Monday.
"Hey, you played against my dad your first NBA game ever," Smith Jr. told James on the court in an exchange captured by NBA TV.
"It made me feel extremely old when Junior told me that," James said with a grin. "I think he even said it, like, 'You probably feel old.'"
Both Smith Sr. and Martin Sr. were in the crowd to watch their sons — and James' son, 18-year-old Bronny, goes to the same Los Angeles-area high school at which Martin Jr. played. James has also played against one of Bronny's former high school teammates, Memphis' Ziaire Williams.
"It's just a unique thing that I've been able to withstand the test of time for as long as I've been playing, to be able to compete now versus father-and-son combinations," James said.
Yet when Davis is healthy, the Lakers appear to be a postseason contender. That notion keeps James going, along with the innate fire in a player who has been driven to succeed from his first step onto an NBA court in Sacramento nearly two full decades ago.
"Ever since we made the trade for AD to bring him here, our whole thing was about health," James said. "That's not changed. We haven't had the best luck of health, I would say, especially this year. I can't tell you what I want out of this ballclub (without good health)."