On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers continued their winning streak with a second straight road win over the Houston Rockets. It was an epic game for LeBron James, who scored 30 points on a hyper-efficient 13-14 from the field in the victory.
After the game, fellow icon Kevin Durant told reporters that he believes James could play in the NBA until the age of 45, per Law Murray of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.
“I don't know if he wants to be around that long. But I think he could play for another 4-5 more years, to be honest… it's not a surprise anymore,” said Durant.
Indeed, the NBA has never seen anything quite like what James has been able to accomplish at the age of 41. While he isn't the same athlete he was during his days on the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, James remains a nightmare for opposing defenses in the open court, able to bulldoze his way to the basket, as he did on Wednesday night with multiple impressive dunks.
He has also only improved his perimeter jumper as his NBA career has progressed, and of course, his basketball IQ is as strong as it has ever been.
In recent weeks, James had begun to take more of a backseat role for the Lakers, allowing teammates Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to do the majority of the heavy lifting on offense. While Doncic got his on Wednesday, scoring 40 points in the win over Houston, James was the clear second option in this one, torching the Houston defense and knocking down a barrage of tough jumpers.
The Lakers increased their lead over the field for third place in the Western Conference with this win, and will hit the floor again on Thursday evening for a game against the Miami Heat on the road.
