HOUSTON — LeBron James sat by his locker, alternating between being introspective and funny.
He allowed himself to take things in, saying he was “living in the moment a lot more.”
He joked about his son, Bronny, bearing an uncanny resemblance to NFL player Will Anderson Jr., calling him “my fourth child.”
Nothing stood out about the moment.
Except everything.
What just happened was monumental.
The 41-year-old James had just led a depleted Lakers team without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves (for all but two games) past the Rockets in their first-round playoff series, winning Game 6 in Houston on Friday, 98-78.
This was no ordinary first-round win for James, who has carried 10 NBA teams to the Finals, winning four championships.
This was one of the most stunning accomplishments of his career.
It’s time to stop questioning whether James is the greatest player of all time.
Six games before the regular season ended, Doncic suffered a hamstring strain and Reaves sustained an oblique strain in the same game April 2, deflating the Lakers like a nail in a tire.
They were counted out in the playoffs.
No one believed James could carry this team past the Rockets, not at this stage of his career.
He’s the first NBA player to play in his 23rd season. He was too old to put a bunch of role players on his back and pull off a miracle. Even in his prime, that would’ve been a huge ask.
The thing is, James is used to being told what he can’t do.
He thrives off proving people wrong. That’s his drug, his fix.
He has been under the brightest of spotlights since he was in middle school. When he entered the NBA as an 18-year-old, he had the highest expectation of any prospect ever. Everyone was waiting for him to fail.
James sprinted past the pressure, shattering every ceiling. He’s the league’s all-time leading scorer, he has the most All-Star selections (22) and has played the most minutes.
But still, no one believed James could do this.
Lead a Lakers team without its top-two scorers, who left behind a 60-point hole? At his age? No chance. No way.
When are we going to stop doubting him?
James responded by averaging 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists over 38.5 minutes per game. Those are stunning numbers for anyone but unheard-of numbers for a 41-year-old playing against younger guys.
He carried the team to a 3-0 series lead.
Then after the Rockets won two straight games, stealing the series momentum, James catapulted the Lakers to a second-round date with the reigning champion Thunder.
Said Austin Reaves: “I just went over to him and was like, ‘You’re insane.’ The stuff that you’re doing is not normal.”
Added Lakers coach JJ Redick: “To me, he’s had the greatest career of any NBA player.”
The oldest NBA player in the league was the best player in the series.
In Game 1, he unraveled the Rockets with his passing, finishing with 19 points and 13 assists. In Game 2, he led all scorers with 28 points. In Game 3, he made a game-tying 3-pointer that forced overtime, and he went on to play 45 minutes. In Game 5, he orchestrated an 11-1 fourth-quarter run, cutting the Lakers’ 13-point deficit to three points and giving them a chance to win.
In Game 6, he was everywhere, doing everything, finishing with game highs in points (28) and assists (eight), as well as grabbing seven rebounds. He had the highest plus-minus (+26) of anyone on the court.
James didn’t just perform. He shined. He stunned.
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He made a dejected-and-hapless group of role players believe in themselves. He brought out the best in them. He led them out of the abyss.
He reinvigorated their careers.
Marcus Smart was falling out of the league. Deandre Ayton was considered immature and unreliable. Luke Kennard was pigeonholed. Each of them looked like stars at times this series.
It was because of James.
If James was pouring every ounce of himself onto the court, how could they not? If someone who understood winning on such a deep level believed in his teammates, how could they not believe in themselves?
What James did was extraordinary.
As the Lakers huddled after Game 6, a loud chant broke out.
“Literally every single guy was going, ‘Baahhhh, baahhhhh,’” Redick said.
The team was making goat sounds to honor the greatest player of all time, a convenient acronym that could be celebrated with a bleat.
It’s time to stop playing devil’s advocate. To stop the debate. To stop questioning him.
James is the best ever.
What we just witnessed was nothing short of breathtaking.
