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The 'pivot' LeBron James makes history and gives the Lakers a break

The 'pivot' LeBron James makes history and gives the Lakers a break

The Rockets - Lakers that ended with the victory of the yellows, 123-132, threw several news to the day of the NBA. The first, of course, is LA's own triumph, which marks the end of a five-game losing streak. Simply put, it's the first time they've won since Anrthony Davis was injured against the Wolves.

But before starting the game, the spotlight was taken by the fact that LeBron James started him at center, something that had not happened in his 19-year career.

"I was tall when I was a kid, but I was never tall enough to play center," said a LeBron James who won the opening jump over Christian Wood. "I've always played small forward or handled the ball."

It is true that it is not the first time that the Lakers have experimented with LeBron as a '5', but there were specific moments, such as in overtime against the Pacers punishing Domantas Sabonis. But he had never done it at the start and almost the entire game. The losses of Davis, DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard forced.

"To think that LeBron is going to play center many more times is ridiculous," said David Fidzale, who replaces Frank Voguel due to covid-19. "But with so many players out due to injury or the virus, we thought it was the ideal game for him to start playing center."

The third big news of the game was his third triple-double of the season: 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. His scoring production makes him the first player in the history of the League to chain five consecutive games with 30 or more points at the age of 35 or more. James, close to 37, leaves the company of Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Elgin Baylor who managed to do it in four games at that age.

But there was more. During the clash in Houston, LeBron James reached 36,000 points throughout his career. It was in his last basket and leaves him with 36,001 points. He is the youngest player to reach that figure in history.

LeBron is third in the NBA's all-time scoring ranking. He has 927 points left to reach the second, which is Karl Malone (36,928) and something more to assault the throne of Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (38,387). Precisely the pursuit of that throne is one of the reasons that his environment wields when assessing a possible withdrawal in the next season. It seems that until he is the best scorer of all time, the star of the Lakers will continue to play. He already has less.

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