LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has a Christmas Day tradition: playing games on national television.
This year was no exception: James partook in his 16th Christmas Day game as his Lakers took on the Brooklyn Nets at the former Staples Center, now officially known as the Crypto.com Arena.
Christmas should be a time to celebrate but it ended up being a big lump of coal for LA, who ended up losing 122-115 to the depleted Nets.
Yes, even without Kevin Durant and several other stars due to COVID health and safety protocols, the Lakers still lost.
Yet, James did incredible work despite the loss.
In fact, it was yet another star turn from one of the greatest NBA players of all time.
16 In A Row
Despite the fact that this was James’ 16th Christmas Day performance in a row, he was still putting up jaw-dropping stats.
39 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists with a 56 percent field goal percentage is no small feat but that’s exactly what he did.
Additionally, he poured his heart into the game and played for 40 minutes straight.
James was so dominant for his team that the fellow Laker with the closest score was Malik Monk, who achieved 20 points in 35 minutes played.
Christmas Game No. 16 😤@KingJames x #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/E4gRjOL4JI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 26, 2021
Once again, James was the best player for LA and that’s great – and troubling – news.
This is a tale as old as time for the Lakers: James does terrific work and leads the team and the rest of the squad comes across as lacking and all over the place.
Right now, there is only one person playing for LA with the grit and determination needed to make it far into the postseason: LeBron James.
As great as his performance was, he will need a lot of help if the Lakers hope to make it to the playoffs, let alone the Finals.
There is no doubt that James will always lead his team but he needs a whole lot more support – and he needs it as soon as possible.
Passing Kobe
James broke some records this year and it’s cause for celebration even though the Lakers failed to claim the W.
He passed the legendary Kobe Bryant and became the league’s all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day.
Coming into the game he was tired for first in total 3-pointers made and first in total wins on the holiday.
It was also the 13th time he scored 20 or more points on a holiday, while other greats such as Bryant, Durant, and Oscar Robertson are tired for second place with 10 such games.
LeBron has passed Kobe to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day ❄️👑 pic.twitter.com/nAw4baDooP
— ESPN (@espn) December 26, 2021
Additionally, James also passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored on a single date in NBA history: Abdul-Jabbar landed 413 points during his career on December 26, which was passed by James’ 422 points on Christmas Day.
James is a beast and these impressive – and sometimes obscure – stats only prove that.
His play this year was just another example of James being James: he was driven, focused, physically fit, and intimidating.
If only the rest of the team were the same.
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