The Los Angeles Lakers ended a four-game losing streak on Saturday night in rousing fashion, routing the Oklahoma City Thunder 129-120 at Paycom Center for arguably their best win of the season. While replacing D'Angelo Russell with Jarred Vanderbilt in the starting lineup certainly played a role in the Lakers' impressive victory, LeBron James' superlative play was no doubt the driving force behind it.

James exploded for 40 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks against the Thunder, shooting an efficient 13-of-20 overall while draining all five of this three-point attempts. He helped ensure Los Angeles didn't entirely squander its once-massive lead, either, scoring 10 straight points in crunch-time to end Oklahoma City's hopes of a last-gasp comeback.

James, who turns 39 on December 30th, reveled in his dominant performance Sunday morning, posting a series of highlights from the game introduced by a photoshop of the viral “not real” plane video from earlier this year.

 

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LeBron James' dominant play in 2023-24 seems ‘not real'

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James in front of Crypto.com Arena.

James' exploits in 2023-24 really do seem outside the realm of reality.

The 21st-year veteran has been one of the best players in the league this season, ranking fifth in overall EPM (estimated plus-minus) behind Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, per Dunks & Threes—broadly considered the top-four candidates for MVP. The purple-and-gold's net rating is also 12.5 points per 100 possessions better with James on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass, a number that ranks in the 93rd percentile league-wide.

While James has never shied away from endorsing his case for individual honors, it seems he's much more interested in helping the Lakers make another deep run into the playoffs this season. Needless to say, a strong road win over the team with the third-best record in a stacked Western Conference is a positive step in that direction.

“We needed this win,” James said after the game, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “We didn't want to end the road trip in a losing effort. … To come in here to play versus a team that's been playing extremely well throughout this season, it was a big win for us.”