Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James reached a new career milestone Tuesday night as he surpassed 39,000 points in a 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz.
In this victory, he performed well, playing only 24 minutes, scoring 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 3-of-5 three-pointers. Despite limited playing time, he found time to dish out nine assists and seven rebounds.
James is 38 years old, more than a month away from his 39th birthday, and he plays like he hasn’t reached his 30th birthday yet. Including Tuesday’s game, he is averaging 25.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists this season. Additionally, he shot 58.7% overall and 41.0% from downtown.
Fox Sports 1 personality Skip Bayless, a considered James hater, took to X (formally known as Twitter) to congratulate the superstar on hitting 39,000 points while acknowledging his insane longevity.
This is not a typo or an altered tweet or image of any kind. Yes, Bayless did give James flowers, and believe it or not, he has done so multiple times in the past.
A big part of Bayless’s following is his persistence with certain athletes. For his part, James feels the four-time MVP has been exaggerated by some and has certain flaws in his game.
Reporters can’t help but wonder whether James’ most ardent fans will make questionable statements in the coming weeks if the Lakers win the first in-season tournament in history.
He also openly wondered how many more points James could have scored if he were a better free throw shooter, which some might consider a shade thrown at him.
Bayless did have a point about James’ free throws. Over his career, he’s shot 73.5 percent from the line, and despite being incredibly efficient this season, he’s only shooting 69.9 percent from the line so far this year.