LeBron James momentarily put aside the irregular present of the Los Angeles Lakers and became this Sunday great protagonist of the All Star Game of the NBAnot only for the massive amount of lavish action he gifted to fans in Salt Lake City, but also for equaling a record held by none other than Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a legend within the world’s most powerful basketball league.
The star of the Los Angeles franchise was the captain of one of the teams that appeared at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, the home of the Utah Jazz, but could not avoid their first defeat, 184-175, against a formation that had Giannis Antetokounmpo as the main reference, although with just a few seconds of the Greek on court due to an injury to one of his wrists.
Both players were in charge, in the preview, of making a sort of selection of basketball players to make up the teams. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry were unable to perform due to recovering from a medial collateral ligament sprain in their left knee and partial tears to the superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane in their left leg, respectively.
The election determined that along with LeBron there would be Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic (starters), Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, Tyrese Haliburton, Julius Randle, De’Aaron Fox and Jaren Jackson (substitutes).
Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, selected Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkanen (starters), Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, DeMar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam, Bam Adebayo and Domantas Sabonis (reserves).
The concrete thing is that James He set the course for his team and the game from its inception, and pretty much until he was benched for good with a hand injury, too, in the second half. In one of his first big appearances, the player who received the most votes for this All Star Game received the ball from Irving and avoided Donovan Mitchell’s weak mark in a simple and spectacular way.
The experienced 38-year-old basketball player, who won four NBA rings with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, made a voluntary throw towards the backboard, went to get his self-pass and buried the ball deep in the basket with a dexterity that, by usual, does not stop being surprising.
LeBron, who in the preview of that action had captured the flashes in Utah with an alley oop after a transfer from Jokic, also showed that he has intact aim by shooting from very long distance, a resource used by most of the protagonists throughout the season. evening.
Jayton Tatum: record and MVP
Jayson Tatum, with an action similar to that of James, also had his space to shine in the rival team, like Ja Morant, who buried the ball behind his back in an action worthy of the dunk tournament, like the one who won in the day before the amazing Mac McCalung.
Tatum, in addition, was the top scorer of the night with 55 points, a performance that allowed him to take over the record for the highest number of units obtained in an All Star Game, which Anthony Davis had since 2017, when he scored 52. His task earned him, in parallel, recognition as the MVP (the most valuable player) of the night.
Jaylen Brown, with 35 points, and Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving, with 32 points each, were top scorers for the LeBron team.
LeBron James’ new record
After breaking just a few days ago the record of the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, combining his goalscoring in regular season and playoff games, LeBron James matched another personal record that was held exclusively by the emblematic figure of his current team.
It is that this Sunday he played his nineteenth All Star Game in the NBA and left behind figures of the stature of Kobe Bryant (18), Tim Duncan (15) and Shaquille O’Neal (15). He even distanced himself further from another legend like Michael Jordan and from a major player of the 1990s like Karl Malone.
ES
