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After claiming supremacy in the City of Angels, beating the Los Angeles Clippers Friday and Sunday, the scorching-hot Los Angeles Lakers are now in second place in the Western Conference standings. Besides entrenching LA further into the title conversation, the team success allowed superstar LeBron James to accomplish something quite notable in his own right.
Despite scoring 17 points on just 6-of-17 shooting from the field and committing a staggering eight turnovers in the second game of the Lakers-Clippers weekend series, he still helped his squad earn the 108-102 home win by dishing out nine assists and recording two steals and a block. The 40-year-old legend now has 1,000 career regular season victories, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish and Tim Duncan as the only players to achieve such an astonishing feat of durability, per the NBA.
James continues to insert himself on the shortlist of nearly every major NBA record. He can pass Duncan as soon as this Thursday and is 74 Ws away from leaping over Jabbar for the No. 1 spot all-time. Additionally, the four-time Finals MVP is just one point shy of becoming the first individual to score 50,000 career points in the regular season and playoffs combined.
James' place atop the Mount Rushmore of 21st Century athletes is already carved out in stone, as demonstrated by his litany of accolades, but he now has a realistic chance to do something that seemed improbable going into the 2024-25 season– win a fifth NBA championship.
Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers on 1,000 career TOTAL WINS! pic.twitter.com/QdOGM8Dyvq
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2025
LeBron James, Lakers are causing big problems in the West
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The Lakers are supposed to be in an adjustment period after acquiring superstar Luka Doncic and dealing away elite defender Anthony Davis in a historic trade with the Dallas Mavericks, but they are moving along seamlessly. Apart from back-to-back losses to the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets, which book-ended the All-Star break, LA has looked invincible.
Both before and after Doncic's arrival, the Lakers have been one of the best teams in the league. Maintaining splendid form in the midst of significant roster shuffling, and in the absence of a true starting center, is genuinely something to behold. Their consistency can most logically be explained by the presence of the most consistently excellent performer in NBA history.
LeBron James is averaging 24.8 points, 8.6 assists, 8.0 rebounds and is shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from behind the 3-point line through 55 games this season. In his 22nd campaign, he improbably remains one of the five or 10 best players in the game today.
And as great as Luka Doncic is— 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting with nine dimes, six boards and two steals in Sunday's win versus the Clippers— James will probably have to retain that status if the Los Angeles Lakers are going to seize the West this spring. Their striking ascent of the conference will not advance any further at this time, considering the Oklahoma City Thunder's ironclad grip on first place (10 and a half game lead), but they obviously need to stay dialed in.
The franchise's job is now to avoid squandering all the momentum it has built in the year 2025. LA (38-21) goes for its seventh straight victory when it hosts the New Orleans Pelicans (17-44) on Tuesday.
