It stands to reason that the only thing here in Los Angeles that has the real power to freeze and silence all the drama LeBron James has created in a mess is, in fact, LeBron James’ act of sheer greatness.
this season, Lakers Unleash the dull hum of basketball—a low frequency of frustration sent by too much mediocrity and angst: the drama of Russell Westbrook. Anthony Davis’ now strained but still impressive injury stretch. He chooses which future draft pick to trade or not to trade. LeBron’s persistent, passive-aggressive attempts to force his team into command, prompting one GM rival to snipe at CBS Sports, “Everybody knows he wants those shots to be traded for help—he should do whatever anybody wants and he’s got the guts to say it out loud.” “.
LeBron’s Lakers are 24-28, a No. 13 tight end West center, and a team of prospects – like many others hopping between the lottery spot, playoffs, or playoff berth – is surrounded by noise for the King James team that falls under its royal standard. supposed.
But this noise, for a moment at least, is about to pause. Because LeBron’s lifelong pursuit of Michael Jordan is about to become fraught with the pursuit of another all-time great.
Just 89 points from now, as you surely know, LeBron will reign as the leading scorer in the NBA. That moment will turn the Lakers from a team of disappointments into one once again reaching out and touching the cusp of ring greatness.
For at least one night, pettiness will be replaced by bravado. frustration to celebrate. A sense of mediocrity at best for a moment of true basketball glory.
Will it be enough freedom from anxiety – enough joy and positivity – to revive the Lakers and run between now and the end of the season? Could. Maybe not. You probably won’t follow the NBA championship.
But a reminder of the feeling–of the purple and gold that sits at the center of the basketball world, of the game’s most talked-about game that emanates once again from downtown L.A., of the entire NBA’s oft-repeated and jealous Lakers–will rise again. others, even if temporarily.
Winning, of course, is great. But it’s the same thing as watching one of the greatest Lakers with the history of the sport in his hand.
Casually but confidently, Lakers sources speculate that, whatever happens, LeBron will smash that record under the rafters where No. 33 resides. He’s now on pace, at his current scoring rate, to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 home runs this week. next.
Those within the Lakers organization expect their superstar to put up enough points in the next two games on the road in Indiana and New Orleans to ensure they pass Karim’s home mark against Oklahoma City next Tuesday, or — more likely — two days later in a game. Nationally televised game against Milwaukee, an original cream team in the NBA and club dollarsThe current star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will oppose LeBron as another captain of the All-Star game later this month.
This passing torch will come along with a much-needed respite from what has been a long season, and a brief reprieve from much of the noise.
Ross ‘let’s just have fun with LeBron disconnecting? settled later. Brutal list building? History does not care. AD-as-Humpty-Dumpty anxiety? Worry about that later. Commission? They can’t even whistle (or fail) on this one. What LeBron is about to achieve is truly amazing.
The Lakers, their fans, and the rest of us can enjoy this moment while we lay our curiosity on what will happen six weeks – or six months – from LeBron 38388 point.
There’s a precedence to this, to Laker’s fine magic weaving from a disappointing season.
On April 13, 2016, the Lakers’ 17-win season came to a merciful end. I was at Staples Center last night, Kobe Bryant’s last, and any jokes, hype or doubts that season evaporated as Kobe rolled back the years and racked up points — 60 of them.
That was his mark, the number that felt inescapable as the game went on, shot after shot, one reminder after another of Kobe’s place in the game and how this beautiful moment can blossom in all its splendor even in the most unkempt garden of the season.
It was a farewell, yes, and very different from what LeBron will claim as he becomes the new NBA scoring record holder. But the effect could be the same: A disappointing Lakers season can still have a moment of awe from the all-time great connective with their all-time greats, brightening up the arena in a way losing teams rarely do.
That night, Kobe sat at a packed post-game press conference, beaming with joy, exhilarating grandeur, surrounded by several journalists hypnotized by what he had just done and how he had encapsulated such a brilliant and brilliant career.
Something similar awaits us all next week. And once LeBron does that — once he takes the lead, and washes away the luster of what the league meant in one historic night — perhaps a similar kind of joy can recalibrate this Lakers season, however long that lasts. The feeling lasts.