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LeBron James was in a playful mood in Sunday night’s NBA All-Star game. From the drafting of his roster to the first quarter, he was playing loose and having fun.
From out of nowhere, he suddenly sprang to a regular-season vibe when he chased down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s nonchalant attempt to dunk the ball. The OKC Thunder superstar had this to say about the whole sequence:
“[LeBron] wasn't playing no defense and then the one time I tried to get a dunk, he wanna play defense. I got something for that next time though.”
"SGA" still finished with nine points in just 10 minutes of action and handed out seven assists, the second-best on Team Giannis. He didn’t get a chance to get back at LeBron James as the LA Lakers superstar didn’t play again after the first half.
James injured his hand following a rim-rattling dunk that forced Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who was coaching Team LeBron, to sideline him.
To be fair, James did go after several shots as he suddenly wanted a highlight block after serving up a couple of thunderous dunks already. Unfortunately, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would have preferred to have made the dunk after assuming that the 19x All-Star would allow him to score.
The last time SGA and LeBron James shared the court was on Feb. 7 at Crypto.com Arena. It was the night the four-time MVP dethroned Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring crown. However, the OKC Thunder, behind Gilgeous-Alexander, ruined the night for James by beating the Lakers.
The All-Star debutant played 38 minutes that night and scored a team-high 30 points to go with eight assists, two rebounds and two steals. The perfect ending to James’ night would have been a resounding win, but "SGA" and the Thunder had other plans.
Games between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LeBron James down the stretch could decide the season for the OKC Thunder and LA Lakers, respectively
The OKC Thunder, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s All-Star play, are holding on to the 10th spot in the Western Conference with a 28-29 record. If the regular season were to end last night, they would have secured the last play-in spot.
The LA Lakers are desperately trying to claw their way into postseason contention. They have a 27-32 win-loss slate, which puts them in 13th place in the Western Conference. After their aforementioned loss to the Thunder, Oklahoma now holds the decider against the Lakers.
If both teams end up slugging it out for 10th place and the last play-in ticket, their head-to-head matches should be all-out battles. They will meet again on March 1 in Oklahoma while their last matchup will be on March 24 at Crypto.com Arena.
The next time the LA Lakers and the OKC Thunder meet, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be facing a vastly different Tinseltown squad. Rob Pelinka’s flurry of trade deadline moves has made the Lakers stronger and more balanced.
LeBron James has also issued a declaration when action returns after the All-Star break:
“It’s 23 of the most important games of my career for a regular season.”
James asserted after the Lakers were eliminated last season that he wasn’t going to miss it this time. He doubled down on his words during All-Star Media Day:
“Not being part of the postseason for two years straight, that's not in my DNA.”
There will be no surprises the next time Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LeBron James meet.
