LOS ANGELES.- LeBron James He became the first basketball player to compete in 23 seasons of the NBA debuting in Tuesday’s victory of the Los Angeles Lakers 140-126 before the Utah Jazz.
‘King James’, a collector of all types of records, left a good physical impression in his 30 minutes on the track.
The forward scored 11 points and distributed 12 assists, leaving the offensive burden on the shoulders of Luka Doncicwho finished with 37 points and 10 assists.
“It was my first game in a long time, almost seven months (…). Everything that happened tonight was as I expected,” LeBron told the press.
“It was a little shaky at the beginning, obviously that was to be expected, but as the game progressed my performance improved a lot,” he said. “I was happy with the way I was able to keep up with the guys.”
LeBron, who will turn 41 in December, was sidelined from the first 14 games of the season due to sciatica. Without their leader, the Lakers performed better than expected with 10 wins and four losses.
Expectations for his debut were growing in recent days until this Tuesday, just an hour before the opening match against Utah, the Lakers confirmed that he was ready to return.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer and four-time champion, LeBron is now the only player who has played 23 seasons, breaking the tie in longevity he held with the retired Vince Carterwho played 22 seasons.
Triumph with comeback
The forward was received with a huge ovation by the Los Angeles public when his image appeared on the giant screens before the game.
It was difficult for him to get into rhythm once the action started, but, eight minutes before the break, he opened his scoring with a three-pointer and then made sure not to lose his streak of 1,293 consecutive games with at least 10 points.
The Lakers’ low defensive intensity made them advance in tow of the Jazz, led by the young Keyonte George (33 points), who was not born when LeBron debuted in the NBA in 2003.
The Lakers went into halftime down four points, but reacted quickly thanks to Doncic, who added 17 points in the third quarter.
A 21-5 run allowed the locals to comfortably face the final quarter. LeBron retired to rest with six minutes left and had a great time from the bench when his son Bronny scored a three-pointer.
“I think for his first game he looked incredible,” Doncic praised him. “He’s going to continue getting into rhythm and it’s going to help us a lot.”
