LeBron Raymone James Senior has made history – again.
The Los Angeles Lakers star is now the only player to compete in 23 NBA seasons after returning from injury in the 140-126 win against the Utah Jazz late on Tuesday in California.
It was 22 years ago, on October 29, 2003, when 6ft 9in (2-metre) James first stepped on to an NBA basketball court for a regular season game.
At the age of 18, he scored 25 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 106-92 defeat to the Sacramento Kings. It was a sign of things to come.
On that same day, James’s superstar Lakers teammate Luka Doncic was thousands of miles away in his native Slovenia. He was just four years old.
That day, one of the strongest solar flares in history took place, creating unusually vivid displays for those observing the Northern Lights.
At age 40, after breaking just about every NBA record under that same sun, James is ready to prove his star is still burning brightly.
James returned against Jazz after a bout of sciatica caused him to miss the Lakers’ first 14 games, as his team went on a surprising 10-4 run in his absence, largely due to the brilliant play of Doncic.
Amazingly, it is the first NBA campaign when all agree that James is no longer his team’s best player.
One could have made an argument at the beginning of last season that then-Laker Anthony Davis – the other half of the shocking trade that brought Doncic to LA from the Dallas Mavericks – was the more dominant star, though their comparable stats made it a close debate.
This season, Doncic is averaging almost 34.5 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, making him one of the early MVP favourites for the whole league.
Yes, James returns as the team’s number two, but he is also entering the season as the league’s oldest player for the third time in a row.
Most players his age have been retired for many years – the average NBA career is less than five years long, while the average retirement age for NBA players is 28, according to a study by RBC.
James, the Lakers say, has been in the league so long that he has played with or against 35 per cent of all players in NBA history.
But retirement will wait at least another season as he looks to add to the best CV in the sport’s history.
And he already has another record in his sights – he is now just 49 regular season appearances away from breaking Robert Parish’s NBA record of 1,611 outings.
He is already the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with more than 42,000 regular season points, surpassing former Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 2023.
And he will remain the only NBA player to score 40,000 points for quite some time – of the top ten all-time scorers, only Kevin Durant remains active on 30,882 points and counting.
He wasted no time in rewriting another passage from the NBA history books against the Jazz – his 11 points included two 3-pointers that moved him into sixth on the all-time list, ahead of Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller.
James scored a layup in the third quarter to extend his streak of double-digit scoring performances to a record 1,293 games.
“Just thought he played with the right spirit. Very unselfish all night. Was a willing passer, didn't force it, took his drives and his shots when they were there,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick.
“The defence is going to pay attention to him, particularly when he has the ball in the post, particularly when he's putting pressure on the rim, and I just thought he made a lot of great decisions tonight. Really good to have him back.”
Record breaker
The most total field goals made in NBA history, as well as the most consecutive games scoring 10 or more points
The only player in NBA history to reach 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists
Four-time regular season MVP and four-time NBA Finals MVP
Six-time NBA All-Defensive selection. Rookie of the Year in 2004
The most All-NBA selections with 21 in a row, including a record 13 first team selections
The most consecutive All-Star selections with 21
The only player to play alongside his son; Bronny James was chosen by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
On Women's Day
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
THE%20SPECS
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1. United States
2. China
3. UAE
4. Japan
5 Norway
6. Canada
7. Singapore
8. Australia
9. Saudi Arabia
10. South Korea
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