Thursday night’s 123-120 win by the Los Angeles Lakers over the Toronto Raptors came at a cost. LeBron James finished with eight points, snapping his 1,297-game streak of games in which he scored at least ten points, a streak that lasted for 17 years.
And it seems as though he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
With the score tied at 120 apiece, James received the ball at the top of the key with 3.5 seconds left, just enough time to pull up for a game-winning attempt. However, James instead drove to the basket to collapse the Toronto defense and then dished the ball to Rui Hachimura, who was waiting in the wings to attempt that game-winner. Hachimura sank the shot as time expired, and the Lakers celebrated the victory, with James leading the way.
Almost immediately, Spectrum SportsNet announcers Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz recognized what had happened. They made sure to call out the way that James sacrificed the chance at keeping his personal streak alive in order to give the team the best chance at winning.
With his 1,297-game 10-point streak on the line, LeBron James dishes to Rui Hachimura for the game-winning shot.
“That was team over individual, when he knows darn well what his streak was, at 1-2-9-7.”
“He always thinks about making the right play.” pic.twitter.com/G4vXskAKOU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 5, 2025
“He always makes the right play,” said Lantz. “He could have very easily tried to win that one on his own, but he sees an open teammate in the corner. He gets him the basketball. He gives the ball to the open guy.”
“Like you said, that was team over individual,” added Macdonald. “When he knows darn well what his streak was, at 1-2-9-7.”
“He could care less about that,” said Lantz.
“That’s what I’m saying, team over individual,” responded Macdonald.
“He always thinks about making the right play,” added Lantz. “And the right play is a corner three by Rui.”
They weren’t the only people to praise James over the way his epic streak ended.
If LeBron’s incomprehensible 10+ point, 17 year, 1,297 game streak were ever going to end, that was simply the greatest way imaginable:
Sitting on 8 points, tie game, ball in hands, chance to keep streak alive with a make or get to OT with a miss, he… made the right play.…
— nick wright (@getnickwright) December 5, 2025
James perhaps summed it up best when asked after the game if he had any emotions over the streak ending.
Full Lebron James Post Game Interview after 10 point streak ended after 1,297 games:
Reporter: Do you emotional the streak ended
Lebron James: No…. we won pic.twitter.com/x4d4o5Golf
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) December 5, 2025
“No, we won,” he said.