Nets salute LeBron James for great NBA career
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Moda Center on January 22, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. Credit: Getty Images/Steph Chambers
LeBron. KD. Kyrie.
Nets. Lakers.
It’s the kind of game that gets circled on the calendar by fans and ticket scalpers alike when the NBA schedule is announced.
Unfortunately, only one of those marquee players — Kyrie Irving — took the court on Monday night as the Nets hosted the Lakers at Barclays Center.
Durant, of course, is out with a right knee sprain. He said on his podcast that he hopes to return before the Feb. 19 All-Star Game.
The real crusher for folks who spent hundreds or thousands of dollars to attend Monday’s clash was the announcement by the Lakers on Sunday that LeBron James would sit out with left ankle soreness.
James is 38 and he did just play 44:13 and score 41 points in the Lakers’ overtime loss in Boston on Saturday. And Los Angeles is scheduled to play the Knicks on Tuesday. It’s possible James would rather play at the Garden than at Barclays if he’s only going to play one of the back-to-back games. He hasn't played at MSG in three years.
However, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said James is experiencing “really significant soreness” in his left foot and will be evaluated Tuesday to see if he can play against the Knicks.
The Lakers were also without Anthony Davis, who was resting a right foot stress injury that he only just returned from two games ago.
James needs 117 more points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
James is averaging 30.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 50.7% from the field and 31.2% from three.
The Lakers came into the night at 23-27, so James’ heroics have not propelled them to the heights he was hoping for as his career hits the back nine. But that doesn’t mean his peers aren’t impressed by what The King is doing.
"It's inspiring to see," Durant said on his The ETCs with Kevin Durant podcast. "As a competitor, it's like . . . I can do that . . . too. But then it's like, dang, he's in year 20, he's 38 years old … Man, salute to that."
Both Nets coach Jacque Vaughn and Lakers coach Darvin Ham played against James in the NBA.
Said Vaughn: “That does make me feel old, for sure. But I think it's a testament to what he's been able to do. I think at the end of the day, when you just look at the amount of years, the totality of his ability to produce year after year against younger guys, against a different group of competition of new people who come into the league, people who were established in the league . . . You look at all the names that he played against during that time and he's continuing to play, that's just facts that are just unbelievable. When you strip it down, you look at just the sheer number of years and the ability for him to produce, I'm not sure we see it again.”
As for Durant, he continues to recover from the MCL sprain he suffered on Jan. 8. The Nets (30-19) were 3-6 in Durant’s absence going into Monday and hope they can get him back for a few games before the All-Star break.
“That would be a nice target point for me, I guess,” Durant said on his podcast. “The few games before the [All-Star Game] to get my legs back under me. That’s in an ideal situation, then slide into the All-Star break back healthy, back on the floor.”
Vaughn said he is purposefully not asking Durant when he’ll be back.
“I haven't seen him,” he said “I've kind of compartmentalized and stayed away from him when he's in the gym. All I know is I'm going to get an update, I think, next week.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
