LeBron James hasn’t been the consensus pick as the best basketball player in the world for a few years at this point. That title probably belongs to Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, and Kevin Durant can feel like they deserve it on any given night. At 38 years old, James is on the downside of his career, but he’s spent most of his 20th season reminding us how great he can still be. His numbers this year are some of the best of his historic career, and now he has his Los Angeles Lakers primed for a surprising run in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
LeBron James’ dunk in NBA Playoffs shouldn’t be possible for a 38-year-old in 20th season
Not bad for a 38-year-old.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
In a pivotal Game 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, James reminded us he can still dominate on the game’s biggest stages. As LA opened up a big third quarter lead at home, James put together one of the better dunks he’s ever had in the postseason. After teammates Jarred Vanderbilt and D’Angelo Russell forced a steal, James filled the lane in transition and threw down a two handed windmill.
Watch LeBron’s latest playoff dunk here:
Here’s another angle of the dunk:
Not bad for a 38-year-old year old.
It’s wild to consider how much high-leverage basketball LeBron has played over the course of his career. This is his 20th season in the NBA, but even that doesn’t do it justice. James routinely leads his teams on deep runs in the playoffs, making the NBA Finals 10 times. All of those extra minutes should have sapped his body of its athleticism, but there are moments when LeBron can still turn the dial all the way up. The Grizzlies found that out the hard way.
Even if LeBron isn’t the best player in the world anymore, he’s still damn close. These playoffs are reminding us of that.
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