Three years after their 1st championship together, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are leading the Los Angeles Lakers to be the favorites in the West once again, for winning it all. James is now 38, in his 20th year in the league, but “blocked by James” is still bringing joy to Lakers fans and ringing his opponents’ years as it does in Andre Iguodala’s.
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The 19x All-Star has defied time like nobody else in the sport before. Multiple players have played for more than 20 years, but nobody with this kind of rigor and consistency.
The offensive side of his ball game has only gone up if anything. But this year’s Playoffs are showing he is not going away defensively anytime soon either.
NBA Twitter acknowledges 38-year-old LeBron James’ 2-way effort in Game 3
Throughout the first round and the 2 games in the second, James was tight defensively getting overshadowed by some monster effort by AD on that end every night.
However, his efforts didn’t go unnoticed in Game 3, as he and AD led the Lakers to a blowout. A few moments after stopping a fast break attempt by Andrew Wiggins in the 3rd quarter, which was surreal for a player that age, James blocked a shot by Jordan Poole that made the Laker Nation go wild.
““Blocked by James” always sends shivers down my spine,” a Twitter user wrote.
“Blocked by James” always sends shivers down my spine
— Hana 🏀💙🧡 (@HanaHoops) May 7, 2023
“OH BLOCK BY JAMES, LEBRON JAMES WITH THE REJECTION,” wrote the other. This one seems from across boundaries.
“OH BLOCK BY JAMES
LEBRON JAMES WITH THE REJECTION”— Rafa Carlos (@RafaCJacobs) May 7, 2023
Some talked about his efforts which might go unnoticed.
Lebron James defensive effort is a huge factor that won’t show up on the stat board. He has two deflections (not a stat) and one block in the past 3 min of game time. Incredible
— playoff jimmy 💙🏁 (@bigmosaicc) May 7, 2023
Can ppl tell the announcers that LeBron James is the greatest player that ever played. If he’s not taking a shot, on the block whatever it is he has his reason. At the half he’s played solid defense and has 10-6-7
— Elle Banks 💎 (@TalkSports_Elle) May 7, 2023
The Lakers won the game by 30 points and got themselves up 2-1 in the series with the next game in LA.
What does it mean for the series?
The Warriors won Game 2 by 27, Lakers won the third by 30. The series is still nothing less than a contest between two top contenders for the championship. It can go either way.
However, going by his Playoffs pattern, Davis, who led the Lakers on both ends with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks, might not show up the next game.
And if the Warriors level it at Crypto.com Arena they might win the series in 6 games with that momentum. So as hyped as the Lakers and their fans must be, they already have Game 4 in mind where Stephen Curry and Co would surely come out firing cylinders.
