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LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham continues to be in awe of star forward LeBron James. James has been on a tear since he turned 38 years old on December 30, averaging 37.0 points per game on 55.4% shooting.
James took his elite scoring to another level on Monday night versus Houston, dropping a season-high 48 points on 61.5% shooting. James also added eight rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers pulled out a 140-132 win.
Following the game, Ham spoke about how historic James’ production has been in his 20th season.
"I think it's historic on a lot of different levels,” Ham said. "For him to be at this point in his career and still able to produce at the level in which he's producing, I think all of us being able to witness it, be a part of it, it shows his competitive spirit, his no-quit mentality. ... Whenever he's out there, he's just been competing. It's amazing to see."
For the season, LeBron James is now averaging 29.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game on 51.1% shooting. James’ 29.7 PPG marks the most points per game by a player in their 20th season or later by a wide margin. The next highest is LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who averaged 17.6 PPG in his 20th season in 2015-16. So, simply put, what James has been doing is basically unheard of.
With their win over the Rockets, the Lakers also snapped their three-game losing streak and improved to 20-24. However, they remain 13th in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Houston remains at the bottom of the West at 10-34.
LeBron James on his season-high 48-point performance
Following his season-high 48-point performance versus Houston, LeBron James spoke about how he almost didn’t play because he was exhausted. The game marked the second night of a back-to-back for the Lakers after their tough one-point loss to Philadelphia.
Given his age, James could easily have taken the night off against a struggling Rockets team. However, as James explained, he decided to play as he felt his team needed him.
“I was extremely exhausted today,” James said.
“I could have very easily took tonight off, but ... our ballclub couldn’t use me taking a night off, I didn’t feel like. I wanted to sit on that loss with Philly last night. I wanted to get that out of my taste buds and see if we could win a ballgame tonight. It was a complete team effort, and I just tried to make plays,” James continued.
It appears James made the right decision as, despite his 48 points, the Lakers only pulled out an eight-point victory. James and the Lakers will now have just one day off before they face Sacramento on Wednesday, their third game in four nights.
