"He has found a purpose and a joy in this season" - JJ Redick on LeBron James having the time of his life amidst the LA Lakers' struggles
LeBron James put on a show on his return to Cleveland on Monday night. James recorded a triple-double in the LA Lakers' 131-120 win over the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. He had 38 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Lakers to their 31st win.
What a game. #LakersWin
@KingJames: 38 pts, 12 ast, 11 reb
@augustinDj14: 20 pts (6/6 3P)
@russwest44: 20 pts, 11 ast
@iAmSJ: 12 pts, 3 stl https://t.co/hKUA2F2NtK
After the game, James revealed that he's having the time of his life despite the struggles of the Lakers (31-41). "The King" would love to finish the season strong and is hoping not to suffer any serious injuries along the way.
"I'm literally having the time of my life right now," James said. "The game's such a beautiful thing. And as long as I'm healthy enough to put on a uniform, I'm gonna play with a lot of passion and a lot of energy and give my teammates what they deserve and what they need."
"Hopefully for the rest of the season, I can stay somewhat injury-free," James added. "Obviously, I'm dealing with a few injuries right now, but I'm working through it. We're working throught it, and that's all that matters."
During the latest episode of ESPN's "First Take," former NBA player JJ Redick discussed James' comments about having the time of his life. Redick believes LeBron has found a purpose and silver lining in the Lakers' dreadful season.
"He has found a purpose and a joy in this season," Redick said. "In a way, the purpose is very much individually-oriented in the sense that he's going for the scoring title. He's past Karl Malone. He's got a chance in the next year or so to pass Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) as the all-time scorer."
Pursuing this season's scoring title and moving into second on the all-time scoring list has been satisfying to James.
James is averaging 30.0 points per game, which leads the NBA and is the highest scoring average for a 37-year-old in league history. (Giannis Antetokuonmpo and Joel Embiid average 29.8 ppg.)
James has 36,985 points. He passed Karl Malone (36,928) on Saturday and could catch Abdul-Jabbar's iconic total of 38,387 points next season.
LeBron James puts Kevin Love on a poster
LeBron James put his friend and former Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love on a poster in the Lakers' 131-120 win over Cleveland on Monday night. James rose for a highlight dunk in the second quarter.
You can watch the nasty poster in the video below.
Before the start of the second half, Love put LeBron in a playful headlock as "payback" for the poster dunk. Love and James were teammates for four seasons from 2015 to 2018, winning an NBA title together in 2016 by beating the Golden State Warriors.
After the game, James apologized to Love and jokingly said he's hoping to still be invited to his former teammate's wedding. Love is engaged to Sports Illustrated model Kate Bock and is expected to tie the knot soon.
"That's my guy," James said. "That's my brother, and I hope I'm still invited to the wedding. That's not even in my all-time dunks. I'll take it out. I didn't mean it. K Love, I love you and I take it back."
It's all good between @KingJames & @kevinlove 🤣 https://t.co/RTfmlpZHDJ