LeBron James is 39 years old and still setting career milestones. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar dropped 40 points on 9-of-10 shooting from three during a 116-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at Barclays Center. James’ nine made threes tied his career-high, also set this season during a January win over the Clippers.
The hyper-efficient shooting underscores one of the many ways the all-time great has transformed his game during his 21st season. James is shooting a career-best 41.6 percent from deep on 5.3 attempts per game. He’s done so while maintaining his dominance in other areas, averaging 25.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.2 steals on 53.0 percent shooting.
Fans and reporters have questioned for years how long James will be able to remain near the top of the NBA’s elite. While the 20-time All-Star has perpetually extended that window, he hinted Sunday that retirement is not far off.
“Not very long. I’m on the other side, obviously, of the heel,” James said when asked how much longer he’ll play. “I’m not going to play for another 21 years, that’s for damn sure. But not very long. I don’t know when that door will close as far as when I retire, but I don’t have much time left.”
After he won them a championship in the bubble in 2020, the Lakers have gotten more out of James in his age-39 season than they ever could’ve hoped for. He’s been among the NBA’s most efficient scorers in March, averaging 26.1 points on 57.1 percent shooting, the third-highest mark among 45 players attempting 16 or more shots per game.
Despite his efforts, Los Angeles sits in ninth place in the Western Conference with eight games remaining. Head coach Darvin Ham could do nothing but thank James for his heroic effort Sunday, with the Lakers attempting to climb into the eighth seed of the play-in tournament.
“I told him in the huddle before his last little stretch… I’m just extremely thankful that he packed the [superman] cape on the road trip,” Ham said. “We needed all nine of those threes… Bron caught fire and just carried us home.”
After winning five of their last six, the Lakers sit one game behind the Sacramento Kings for eighth and one and a half games ahead of the Golden State Warriors for ninth. If they are to qualify for the playoffs, they’ll face one of the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder or Minnesota Timberwolves, who are each within a game of each other at the top of the West standings.
Following a quiet trade deadline despite James’ not-so-cryptic Twitter messages, it’s unclear what the future holds for the four-time MVP in Los Angeles.
James has a $51.4 million player option with the Lakers next season.
