20 years after NBA debut, LeBron James gifted $290 gifts along with iconic photo by Sacramento Kings
LeBron James received a gift package from the Sacramento Kings. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been in the NBA for 20 years and was honored by the Kings when he entered the locker room. The Western Conference franchise gifted LeBron a 20-year-old bottle of wine, an iconic framed photo of a dunk against their team, and a pair of yellow Nike Vomero.
The complete gift set is valued at around $290. Yet, it was the aged bottle of wine, valued at around $131, which was a nice touch. The overall set of gifts was a classy touch from a Kings franchise that's been rising recently.
Sacramento won their game against the Lakers, 132-127. LeBron James scored 27 points, along with 15 rebounds and 8 assists in 39 minutes of play. Even at 38 years old, LeBron is still a Top-10 player in the league and proved his credentials with a stellar performance against the Kings.
Sacramento has now won two of their first three games. The Lakers are 1-2 in their first three contests. Darvin Ham's team has struggled down the stretch despite LeBron playing a high minutes load to begin the season. In year 20 of his career, the Lakers should likely be doing a better job of managing LeBron's minutes to begin the season. They will need him at his best during the playoffs.
LeBron James recently defended Anthony Davis
During the Los Angeles Lakers opening game of the season against the Denver Nuggets, Anthony Davis struggled to make an impact. Davis is supposed to be taking over from LeBron James as the primary option for the Lakers.
After Davis helped the Lakers secure their first win of the season against the Phoenix Suns, LeBron used a post-game interview to defend his All-Star teammate. The veteran superstar noted how his teammates "don't give a s***" about the criticism being lobbied toward Davis.
"We don't give a sh*t about criticism about AD," James said. "We don't care, nothing bothers us. AD doesn't care. I don't know if guys have figured it out, AD does not care. He's not on social media, so he doesn't see none of the crap. He rarely talks, much less to us.
"We don't give a sh*t about it. He definitely doesn't. He's going to do his job. We're happy to have AD."
Davis had a big game against the Kings. The veteran big man dropped 30 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. As such, the criticism he received was likely premature. He's had two big performances in his first three games of the season.
However, Darvin Ham will need to ensure those big performances begin leading to wins. Otherwise, the Lakers will be fighting an uphill battle this season.