LeBron James’ 10 best performances of the season
3. Making an early-season statement in Dallas (11/01/20)
There was a lot of pre-season talk regarding LeBron’s spot atop the league’s hierarchy and whether or not that remained true after a disappointing first season in Los Angeles.
His case wasn’t aided following an underwhelming opening-night performance against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers.
Given the wear and tear on his 35-year-old body coupled with the first major injury of his career the previous season, it wasn’t crazy to think even the slightest of dips for James James was coming while Anthony Davis stepped into the spotlight.
Well, he needed all of five games to disprove that notion in front of a nationally televised audience against the Dallas Mavericks.
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In a season-high 42 minutes, LeBron put up 39 points with 16 assists, 12 rebounds and four steals in an overtime victory. This included nine points and two assists in the extra session after creating a game-tying 3-pointer for Danny Green at the fourth-quarter buzzer.
Luka Doncic had taken the NBA by storm with production far beyond his years similar to the way James had all those years ago. He was phenomenal in this one with 31 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds of his own.
Like Zion, Luka’s time will come. But after this one, it was clear that time would have to wait while LeBron’s stretch of greatness continued at the level we’d grown comfortably accustomed to.