LeBron James He loves horror movies, he loves them so much that he has a tattoo of his “Big Three” villains on his thigh. There’s “Nightmare on Elm Street” by Freddy Krueger. There’s Michael Myers from “Halloween.” And there’s Jason Voorhees from “Friday the 13th.” If anyone appreciates a good scare, it’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Yet there was no killer behind a mask or scarred monster with a knife that made James scream on Christmas Eve in San Francisco. The Lakers had just beaten the Golden State Warriors in a game in which James was fantastic when he remembered the terrifying monster that awaited him in five days.
Hidden behind the door on Monday December 30, James would be 40 years old. Remembering this, he shouted jokingly.
“Five days,” he exclaimed, perhaps a shiver running down his spine.
In 1987, legendary LA Times columnist Jim Murray wrote about athletes watching the villain who eventually gets them all: Father Time.
“A great heavyweight champion at 40 is pathetic to watch,” Murray wrote. “He sees the opening but can’t get the punch in time. A great tennis champion can no longer go to the net. A great quarterback must throw a sidearm.
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Only the rarest forms of greatness can survive there. In 1987, Murray wrote about Nolan Ryan, who would pitch 1,000 more innings over six more seasons. Tom Brady played six seasons after turning 40. And now James faces the challenge of not only reaching that milestone, but breaking it, living up to the high standards he’s set for himself over 22 seasons.
The end, James will admit, is coming. But it’s not there yet.
According to basketball-reference.comAccording to data from , only 23 players played in the NBA for seasons when they were 40 or older as of January 31. James will be the 24th.
Most of the roster is littered with reserve big men – Robert Parish, Dikembe Mutombo and Kevin Willis all played into their 40s. Before Vince Carter proved to be a key player for several seasons after 40 years.
As for frontline contributors, only Kareem Abdul Jabbar And John Stockton were able to really thrive after 40 years. James is about to surpass them all.
Players 37 or older have scored 35 or more points after their 37th birthday 76 times in NBA history. Kobe Bryant did it three times. Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone each did it eight times. And Michael Jordan I did it 12 times.
LeBron James has done it 34 times.
NBA players over the age of 33 have had 242 triple-doubles. James owns almost a quarter (58). Malone is the oldest player to have a triple-double at 40 years and 127 days old. James has 11 triple-doubles since he was 39 years old.
There are dozens of statistics like this.
And this season, he’s averaging 23.5 points, 9.0 assists and 7.9 rebounds, with the latter two stats above his career averages.
“I’ve been able to do this at a high level for two decades,” James said earlier this month after setting the NBA’s all-time record for minutes played. “And to continue to put myself in the record books in this game of basketball that I love so much and in the best league in the world, it’s pretty cool and it’s very humbling.”
For his new coach, JJ Redick, being there at this stage of James’ career is particularly surreal. The two first faced each other in high school. Redick retired after the 2021 season, emotionally exhausted and physically beaten.
Now one of his most important players is six months younger than him.
“I think the biggest thing is just competitive endurance,” Redick said when asked earlier this season about James.
It’s his favorite line about the Lakers star.
“This is reflected in his routine. Being able to get up every morning and do the same thing over and over again, it’s not easy,” Redick said. “I think anyone who’s been a high performer probably has times where they feel like they could take a day off, a rehearsal, or a week off, whatever it may be. And I know that during the offseason he’ll occasionally hop on a $300 million yacht for a week in Ibiza or wherever he goes in the Mediterranean. But I think that’s what stands out. You don’t do this as long and have the routine that you have without just a high level of competitive endurance.
Before James set the minutes played record earlier this month, he was asked about the physical and mental toll of such an extension. Earlier in the year, James missed two games while taking a week off from the team to nurse his ailing left foot and reset mentally.
“I just think it’s just a commitment to the craft and the passion and the love that I have for the game,” he said. “I don’t take a lot of time off in the offseason. A little more time now. I didn’t take a lot of time off in the offseason, it doesn’t matter if I made the 10 straight (NBA) Finals and if I I was always trying to keep my body in tip-top shape, and I was able to, like I said, play a lot of minutes and, for most of my career, be injury-free and available.
“I don’t mean injury-free. We all have our injuries in this league and in this sport. But being available for the majority of my teammates, the franchises, the three franchises that I play for, is something that I take very seriously. seriously.
Fittingly, his first game after turning 40 will be Tuesday against the team that drafted him — the Cleveland Cavaliers — though he has recovered from an undisclosed illness that caused him to miss the win against Sacramento Saturday.
“It’s pretty mind-boggling to be in this position, to coach him, play against him for 15 years, take three years off and stop his games, and then he’s still playing at this level,” said Redick. “It’s like he’s been doing this forever.”
And after showing some signs of aging early in the season, James has taken a giant step forward as the Lakers have played better basketball over the past three weeks.
“I’m an energetic guy and I love the game and I love how I’m able to continue to go out and help my team and compete,” James said after his Christmas night shout-out. “So I try to give as much energy as possible, especially when I have it. And I’ve had it these last few weeks, for sure.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
