SACRAMENTO — Midway through the first quarter Thursday night, LeBron James checked out of a game against the Sacramento Kings and walked to the bench in the city where he played his first NBA regular season more than 21 years ago.
This would be his last walk off the court before achieving more milestones. By the end of his next shift in the second quarter, he had broken Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most regular-season minutes, breaking the previous record of 57,446 minutes.
“I think it’s just a commitment to the craft and a commitment to the passion and love for the game,” James said of his accomplishments, having played over 957 hours of professional basketball.
Still, after all this time, James has the ability to make game-winning plays. A chase down block, a key defensive stop, and a bull ball dagger all helped the Lakers defeat the Kings 113-100.
Austin Reeves led the Lakers with 25 points, James had 19 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, and despite shooting slowly on the night, Anthony Davis had 21 points, four assists, a season-high. He had an overwhelming performance with 18 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Davis also stole three bases.
James played 34 minutes, finishing the game with 57,471 career minutes.
The Lakers will play the Kings again on Saturday afternoon.
This minutes record came at a time when the Lakers and James were very concerned about how much he was playing (and not playing). James missed two games and was away from the team for a week as he underwent a mental and physical reset after starting to feel pain in his left foot.
He returned Sunday against Memphis and displayed visibly more energy on both ends of the court. Coach JJ Reddick said the team could look for other opportunities to give the soon-to-be 40-year-old more rest.
Before the game, James said he was more open to that than he was before.
“I don’t like playing games when I’m reasonably healthy. That’s not a problem. It’s just never been my thing,” James said when asked about it. . “I’m always open to having that conversation if it’s beneficial for my body and could benefit my play in the long run for the benefit of the team. Let’s see what happens.”
With three days off since their last game, the Lakers had plenty of energy, and they used it against the Kings, jumping out to an early 14-point lead behind a much-improved defense.
The Kings’ transition defense allowed the Lakers to create a ton of open looks from the perimeter, making seven threes in the first quarter alone.
The game was tense in the second, with the Kings taking the lead before the Lakers’ best players could take control.
Reaves went to the line and hit a big shot. Davis defeated Domantas Sabonis, who is currently on a two-fight winning streak. And James controlled the game without dominating the flow. Gabe Vincent, who has struggled with his shooting since joining the Lakers, hit four threes.
But it was on defense that the Lakers continued to play their best basketball, holding their opponents to under 100 points for the third time in four games.
