On Friday night, to kick off 12 months 38 for Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James, LA notched a surprise W against an honest Atlanta Hawks team on the road, 130-121.
James didn’t show many signs of rust, advanced NBA age aside. He scored 47 points on while shooting 18-of-27 from the sector, grabbing 10 boards and meting out nine dimes. The four-time champ seems almost certain to make his record-tying nineteenth All-Star team next month.
Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu, starting within the stead of injury big man Clint Capela, made a daring claim almost about the all-time rank of the Lakers’ latest all-time luminary.
Per Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com, Okongwu offered up high praise for LeBron James following his latest encounter for the Lakers all-timer.
“To me, he’s the best of all time,” Okongwu offered postgame on Friday. “Me and John being in foul trouble doesn’t help, either. He’s only a physical specimen going downhill. It is so hard sometimes; you may have to foul him. He’s a tricky cover. We’ll see him again per week from today.”
In 42:35 Friday night, Okongwu did his darnedest to stave off the Lakers. The 6’8″ big out of USC scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the ground, pulled down eight rebounds, blocked three shots and swiped two steals.
For his twentieth NBA season, James is averaging unprecedented sums at this juncture in a profession: 28.5 points on .506/.309/.753 shooting splits, 8.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and a steal. Granted, he isn’t any longer the extent of player who can elevate a mediocre supporting solid to greatness (LA is 15-21), but his individual counting stats remain unreal considering his age and mileage.
