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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were expected to enter a new era after the team shipped away Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. However, it looks like the Purple and Gold are contemplating on entering a full rebuild around Luka, placing a ticking timetable on James' tenure in Los Angeles. With plenty of chatter surrounding a possible trade headlined by James, it's worth taking the time to look at James' 10 best moments as a Laker.
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10. LeBron James and Bronny James are first father-and-son teammates
Throughout NBA history, there has been several father and sons who've played in the league. However, they had never played at the same time. But for the 2024-25 season, things changed when the Lakers selected Bronny James in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft with the 55th pick.
This paved the way for the Purple and Gold to deploy both James players in the season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves to become the first father-and-son duo to take the court at the same time. It wasn't only a historic moment but a big one for the James household.
9. 2023 Western Conference Finals appearance as seven seed
After missing the 2022 NBA Playoffs, amid the Russell Westbrook disaster, James was leading the charge of the Lakers squad for the 2022-23 season. After Los Angeles sent away Russell Westbrook at the deadline, the team returned to contender status in the blink of an eye. The Purple and Gold went 17-9 to finish the regular season before eliminating the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round to become the first team since the San Antonio Spurs in 2010 to do so.
James averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per outing, capped off by a 20-20 night in Game 4. The Lakers would go on to take care of business against the Golden State Warriors in the second round to punch a ticket to the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
8. LeBron James becomes oldest player to register a 30-20-10 game
Despite already entering the twilight zone of his career, James continues to impress. He became the oldest player to register a 30-20-10 game during the 2023-24 season. He finished with 36 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Lakers to a 145-144 win over the Golden State Warriors. With the feat, James became the oldest player to register a 30-point triple-double at 39 years old.
7. LeBron James reaches 1,000 straight games with at least 10 points
Speaking of giving Father Time a workout, James continues to impress with his consistent scoring. During the 2019-20 season, James became the first NBA player to finish with double-digit scoring for 1,000 consecutive games in his career. Coincidentally, he surpassed Michael Jordan's 866th streak. Currently, The King has scored at least 10 points in 1,292 straight games, leaving him in a class of his own.
6. LeBron James scores 56 points against the Warriors
James has been a Laker for seven seasons now. His best scoring night in a Purple and Gold uniform came against his old nemesis, the Golden State Warriors during the 2021-22 season. James led the Lakers to a 124-116 victory where he led all scorers with 56 points. It was his highest scoring tally since signing with the Lakers. Furthermore, it marked the 13th 50-point game in James' decorated career.
5. LeBron James is NBA leader in assists for 2019-20 season
James has led the NBA in scoring once in his career. However, no one expected that the King would also someday lead the league in assists, more so when he was already 35 years old. During the 2019-20 season, The King averaged 10.2 assists per game, totaling 684 dimes for the season to lead the NBA. It marked the first assists title in his career.
4. LeBron James leads Lakers to win inaugural NBA Cup
During the 2023-24 season, the NBA introduced to the world the first NBA In-Season Tournament, now branded as the NBA Cup. Although it was a new tournament, that didn't stop James and the Lakers from becoming the first NBA Cup champions. He averaged 26.4 points 8.0 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game to lead Los Angeles to be crowned as the first NBA Cup MVP.
3. LeBron James becomes the NBA's all-time leading scorer
Although the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game during the 2022-23 season, James came away with history when he scored the 36th of his 38 total points in the Lakers' 133-130 loss. The fadeaway jumper allowed James to finally surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 career points, an NBA all-time scoring record that he had held for nearly 40 years.
2. LeBron James becomes first NBA player to score 40K points
While there have been several iconic players in NBA history, no one has ever sniffed the 40K point threshold until James did so. During the 2023-24 season, James was a bright spot in the Lakers' 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets, finishing with 26 points. And thanks to one of his layups, The King became the only NBA player in history to score 40,000 career points. He's also the only player to be in the 40K-10K-10K club.
1. LeBron James leads Lakers to 2020 NBA title
With the Lakers organization reeling from Kobe Bryant's tragic passing followed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Purple and Gold desperately needed something to move on from the catastrophic events. Fortunately, the NBA resumed the 2019-20 season inside a bubble.
This paved the way for James and the Lakers to continue their dominant run, capturing the 2020 NBA championship, the 17th banner in Lakers history. In the process, James was crowned the 2020 NBA Finals MVP, making it the fourth of his career overall. He's also the lone player in league history to win Finals MVPs with three different teams
