LeBron James may not be the same player he was back in his heyday with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. But he's still a damn great player even as Father Time attempts to take him down with every passing moment. Having turned 38 Friday, James quickly proved that age, indeed, is just a number after he put up 47 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 130-121 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Surely enough, some of the most prominent personalities in the NBA, aside from Kevin Durant, marveled at such a ridiculous performance from someone in his 20th season in the NBA.
Included in the players who gave James his much-deserved flowers are some of the most beloved Lakers in history such as Magic Johnson, Pau Gasol, and even James Worthy, who gushed over The King during the Lakers broadcast's post-game show.
Johnson, of course, had his signature “I'll-narrate-whatever-happened-in-a-straightforward-manner” tweet up and ready in no time. But he was feeling friskier than usual, as he added several emojis.
LeBron James put on a show for his birthday scoring 47 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the Lakers 130-121 victory over the Hawks!🔥🔥🔥
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 31, 2022
Meanwhile, Gasol gave props to James for leading the Lakers to a much-needed victory, on his birthday no less.
Happy 38th birthday @KingJames.
That’s how you celebrate it!! Big time game and big time win!— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) December 31, 2022
In addition, Big Game James Worthy just expressed into words (and actions) everything everyone has been thinking about LeBron James following his dominant performance.




"That boy is bad that's all I got to say." 👑👏@JamesWorthy42 with a birthday #WorthyClap for @KingJames. pic.twitter.com/Q4bXxU4S95
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 31, 2022
Not to be outdone, others such as Donovan Mitchell, Jeremy Li and Kendrick Perkins also paid their respects to a man who can comfortably and justifiably sit on a throne befitting of only the greatest to ever touch a basketball.
Cant believe Lebron didnt just get 1 more assist for the triple double lol.
Real talk though, these statlines are getting so insane. 50 and 60 point triple doubles 🤯
And Lebron, in year 20, hoopin like this?! Unreal— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) December 31, 2022
Bron is ridiculous man!! Sheesh!!
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) December 31, 2022
Happy MF birthday @KingJames ! You musta Uber Eats that combination plate from Magic City? Because we know you ain’t go 😂 47 piece lemon pepper,10 and 9? That’s how you celebrate another year around the sun! Carry on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 31, 2022
With LeBron James in the twilight of his career, they know better than to take this 47/10/9 performance for granted. Who knows how many more of these games James has in him? (The answer is probably many more, given how difficult James has made it to doubt him.)