LeBron James has to watch from the sidelines as his Los Angeles Lakers suffer a heavy defeat and will not play 65 games this season. This ends a historic streak.
For the first time in his career, LeBron James will not receive an award at the end of the season. The NBA’s record scorer missed his 18th game of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night due to injury, meaning he will not be eligible for awards at the end of the regular season. According to the league’s controversial current rules, players must play at least 65 of the 82 games to be eligible.
James immediately won the Rookie of the Year award after the 2003 NBA draft, when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him with the first overall pick. The four-time champion then went on to win four Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards and was nominated at least once for one of the All-NBA teams. The three-time Olympic champion also made it into the top ten defenders six times at the end of the season. Without the 41-year-old and his co-superstar Luka Doncic, who was also injured, the game against the San Antonio Spurs ended in a debacle: L.A. lost 108-136. The team led by German pro Maxi Kleber (six points) was already trailing by almost 30 points at halftime. The main problem for the hosts was Victor Wembanyama. The Frenchman, who plays for the Spurs, scored 40 points in just 26 minutes for the Lakers and also led his team with 12 rebounds.
The 22-year-old already had 25 points to his name after the first quarter. No player for the Texans has scored so well in a quarter since at least 1997. The fact that the final score was not even more decisive was also due to both coaches taking their stars off the court early. The Lakers remain fifth in the Western Conference, while San Antonio is second.