After LeBron James decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, he seemed to be on a mission to prove that he still had a lot left in the tank and could compete with the best of them.
That was never more apparent than when he played against the Atlanta Hawks on his 38th birthday.
On Dec. 30, 2022, the Lakers traveled to Atlanta for their final game of the calendar year. James was celebrating his 38th birthday in his 20th NBA campaign while the Lakers struggled to get their feet off the ground with a 14-21 record. They needed a win desperately to stay afloat in what was becoming another potentially lost season.
That’s when James went into true superstar mode for a night and reminded the NBA world that, even at 38, he was still one of the best players in the league. He started slow with two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first quarter, but caught fire in the second quarter and beyond.
He scored 16, 13 and 16, respectively, in the next three periods to secure 47 points to go along with 10 rebounds and nine assists. He went 17-for-22 from the field after the first quarter in another highly efficient and dominant performance.
And most importantly, he did so in a 130-121 Lakers victory. L.A. needed every bit of it from James, as a slow start put them in a 33-23 hole after one quarter, but he led them to erase the deficit slowly and give the Lakers their 15th win of the season. Anthony Davis was unavailable for this game.
This game triggered a five-game win streak for the Lakers to bring them close to .500 after a pitiful start to the year. And it’s possible that momentum would never have been found without James’ electrifying birthday outing, which has been a theme for him throughout his career.
LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record a few months later
That game was the start of an outstanding scoring run for James that season, culminating with him breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record in the Lakers’ home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in February.
Abdul-Jabbar was on hand for the game to watch James break his record, being nothing but respectful and supportive throughout the process.
In what was an awesome moment, Abdul-Jabbar posed for a picture with James handing him the game ball from that night, something that will be remembered in Lakers history forever.
