LeBron James turns 39: the prodigy who has become a legend and proves his worth in the NBA at record levels

although the NBA usually experiences holidays of feverish activity on December 25th and January 1st of each year, for some seasons another very special day was inserted between those two dates: the birth of one of the most brilliant players who played in that championship. This Saturday, Lebron James will celebrate his 39th birthday on the Target Center floor in Minneapolis, where the Los Angeles Lakers will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It will be the tenth time James has played on his birthday. Last year he scored 47 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the Lakers’ 130-121 win over Atlanta. He thus became the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 45 points at age 38 or older: they had already done it before Michele Giordano (three times), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar AND Jamal Crawford.

Only once had LeBron had a better record, on December 30: in 2009, when he celebrated his 25th birthday, he scored 48 points in Cleveland’s 106-101 victory over Atlanta.

Since that last celebration, a combination of joys, frustrations, sadness and records have peppered the life of the gutters during the last revolution of the Earth around the Sun. But some things have not changed: the commitment to sport that he embraced when he was nine years old, his character hypercompetitiveHe command which he exercises on his companions and on I respect that he generates in his opponents (players, coaches, fans).

This past year, the Akron-born player who studied at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School became the leading scorer of the NBA regular season: He succeeded on February 7, with the 38 points scored in the Lakers’ 133-130 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which allowed him to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points and thus add another mark to his career .

He’s also the all-time leader in points, wins and games played in the NBA playoffs, and he is the only player to win Finals MVP with three different teams: Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles Lakers.

But 2023 also gave him a hard sports slap in the face in May, when the Lakers suffered a brutal 4-0 loss in the Western Conference final to Denver, the eventual NBA champion. After the last game of the series, in which he scored 40 points, he pulled down 10 rebounds and provided 9 assists, King James suggested the setback could spell the end of his career.

“At this point in my career I don’t play for anything other than winning championships. We’ll see what happens later. I have to think about it if I want to continue playing, “she launched on May 22 and surprised everyone present in the conference room of the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

A long period of rest and reflection meant that the possibility of retirement was put aside. Therefore, after having traveled a long journey that began in 2003, when he was 18 years old and was selected as number one in the draft through Cleveland without having attended college, James contests its 21st season in the most competitive championship on the planet. Only five other men have reached that milestone: Kevin Willis, Robert Parish, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter, who holds the record with 22 seasons.

In the first stretch of the season, in which the Lakers have not yet found their balance, LeBron and his teammates had the pleasure of keeping the first edition of the Seasonal tournament, a new cup format tournament that the NBA implemented this year. The forward was decisive in both the semifinals against New Orleans and the final against Indiana and was named MVP of the match.

“I only have one word for LeBron: extraordinary. It’s a blessing to know that you’re on the same side as him,” his coach, Darvin Ham, praised him in those days. His teammates also underlined the importance of the veteran for the team. “He seems healthy, fresh, in good spirits He is never in a bad mood, always smiling, joking, laughing. When a player like him behaves like this it is a very positive boost in the locker room.”, underlined Austin Reaves, one of the young people on the team.

At 39 years old, winner of four NBA titles (in 2012 and 2013 with Miami, in 2016 with Cleveland and in 2020 with the Lakers) and four-time MVP of the season (2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013) maintains considerable validity: average 34.3 minutes and 25.4 points per game. Although slowly injuries and tiredness begin to reduce his presence on the pitch: in none of the last three seasons has he reached 60 games in the regular season.

His early league debut and longevity have meant that in recent years James, who has averaged more than 25 points in all but his first NBA season (he recorded 20.9), has been playing more and more often against his rivals’ children. he faced at the beginning of his career, such as Jabari Smith Jr, Jalen Brunson, KJ Martin, Jabari Walker, Gary Payton II or AJ Griffin.

He is getting ever closer to the record of 1,611 regular season games he holds Roberto Parish: he accumulates 1,450 and ranks eighth in the historical list (and first among active men).

Parish’s chances of reaching Parish’s milestone will depend on how much thread remains on LeBron’s spool, a question only he has a good answer to. For now, beyond his voracity to win titles (he played in his first NBA finals at 22 and his last, so far, at 36), there are a couple of goals on the contract player’s list with the Lakers until 2025.

One of them is to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. If he did so, it would be his fourth appearance in an event of this caliber: he was champion with his team in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and won the bronze medal in Athens 2004 (lost in the semi-final against Argentina ). In the United States there is already speculation about a team that would also include other stars such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum.

Another goal James set for himself in the twilight of his career is to play in the NBA Bronny, the eldest son, 19, who made his NCAA tournament debut three weeks ago with the University of Southern California Trojans in a game against Long Beach State. That day, LeBron and his two other children, Bryce and Zhuri, cheered wildly from one of the stands at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Bronny’s debut came just five months after he suffered cardiac arrest, the result of a congenital heart defect, during his team’s training session. That was one of the most difficult moments in his father’s life, and he called those days “a whirlwind of emotions” for his family.

“No matter what’s going on, the only thing that matters is family. Seeing what (Bronny) has been through the last few months has been a lot. But the best thing is that we have each other,” said LeBron, who will be able to celebrate his 39th birthday this Saturday with his children, his wife Savannah and his mother Gloria Marie. And play basketball, like for three decades.