The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets on Saturday despite LeBron James' poor performance. King James scored 16 points on 7-17 shooting with five turnovers. He made weekend basketball headlines with two instances.
The Rockets head coach was removed after his verbal altercation with Ime Udoka. The fans and teammates gushed over his 360-degree layup. The day after the game, leaked audio showed James and Udoka's conversation. Instead, LeBron tweeted a video of his acrobatic shot with a clever message.
LeBron calls himself the Washed King. Because he no longer dominates the opposition with his physicality. James is the oldest NBA player, yet he is still a top performer.
The Akron youngster averages 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists on 55.1% shooting. The figures Bron is posting in his 21st season are unprecedented. The NBA's greatest Year 21 season before James was Vince Carter's 2018-19 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. He's blowing over that threshold.
Besides scoring, LeBron amazes with his dunks, assists, and plays. That 360-degree layup was his highlight on Saturday night, and he posted it on Instagram to draw attention.
James had addressed his critics on Instagram before Sunday's post. After scoring his 108th 30-point game with the Lakers last month against the Portland Trail Blazers, LeBron took a jab at his critics who questioned his decision to go to Los Angeles.
LeBron's thoughts went beyond Hollywood when he got to LA. Space Jam: Legacy began production in 2019, but James led the Lakers to their first NBA title post-Kobe in 2020. LBJ plays well despite his age, even though the Purple and Gold haven't come near since then.
The Lakers started the season 12-9 despite a famous offseason. Year 21 LeBron is attempting to remind naysayers that he's still royalty despite being the Washed King.