NBA scores 2017: appreciating LeBron James and his remarkable consistency

James plays nearly every game, doesn’t get injured, and dominates the postseason.

Mar 10, 2017, 2:00 PM UTC

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

For a brief moment on Thursday, we saw the LeBronJames.exe script misfire. Programmed with as much ruthless efficiency as possible, James took a hit to his midseason and briefly appeared to be hurting from it. The television cameras caught him wincing after the play, which put everyone watching on high alert, especially an already injured Cavaliers team.

Of course, James never left the game, and the injury was forgotten as a false flag. That’s LeBron James for you:

We may not appreciate the remarkable consistency of James enough. The closest thing James has ever had to a serious injury was his brief midseason sabbatical he took in his first year after returning to Cleveland. He played only — only — 69 games that season, and he’s done 75 or more in every other nonlockout year. (He even played every game during the lockout season.)

All the miles, plus six straight NBA Finals appearances, don’t seem to be wearing on James. On Thursday, he dunked seven times, the most in eight years, tying his career high in made dunks in a single game.

James finished with 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting, while snaring his 50th career triple double with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The banged up Cavaliers lost to Detroit, falling 106-101, so it wasn’t James’ best evidence for his burgeoning MVP chase despite his stat line. However, if there’s anything we’ve learned over James’ career, it’s that he’ll have another game like this all over again before we know it.

Are the Lakers going to lose their first round pick?

No, probably not. But beating the Suns on Thursday didn’t help their cause. They’re still a game back of Phoenix in the standings, though, so that tenuous divide may be enough to keep Los Angeles lower than its division rival.

Let’s backtrack: The Lakers owe Philadelphia their first round pick unless it falls in the top three. While the Nets are basically locked into the worst record in the league, the Lakers are currently second worst — meaning they can be skipped once, something that happens with regularity, and still retain their selection.

Had the Lakers lost to Phoenix, instead of the 122-110 win we had, it would have been likely Los Angeles stayed at No. 2. Now the Lakers have to hope and pray the Suns keep winning games and don’t slip underneath Los Angeles.

On the plus side, this Brandon Ingram dunk happened, which does make everything a little bit better: