The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2010 following their dominant 119-96 drubbing of the Houston Rockets in Game 5. LeBron James led the way for the Purple and Gold franchise, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

After the game, James spoke about leading the Lakers to the West Finals after a decade-long demise of not being able to compete for championships — something that the franchise had gotten used to throughout its history.

Obviously, Los Angeles has gone through a lot of dismay over the last 10 years, and one could say it has been one of the darker periods in Lakers basketball. The King looks determined to put an end to that, though.

Personally for LeBron James, he will make his ninth conference finals in 10 years. Likewise, this marks the 11th conference finals appearance in his Hall of Fame career.

Reaching the conference finals, however, is just a stepping stone for James and the Lakers to get to their ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship. They now await the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Clippers series to determine which team they will need to go through to make it to the promised land.

After failing to make the postseason in 2018-19, Playoff LeBron is back in full swing through the first two rounds. Prior to his remarkable Game 5 performance, James came into Saturday's contest averaging 26.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 9.0 assist while shooting an efficient 55.9 percent from the field.

The two Los Angeles teams are expected to have a mega collision in the West Finals. However, Denver looks to ruin the party, especially after they gutted out an impressive come-from-behind Game 5 win on Friday to stay alive.