By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
LeBron James is one of the greatest players of all time, and his longevity is second to none.
He officially entered his 23rd NBA season, something no player before him has ever achieved. He is now just 49 games away from tying Robert Parish’s all-time record for games played, and he extended his streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,293.
After recording a double-double of 11 points and 12 assists in the win over the Utah Jazz, King James spoke about returning to action after missing the first 14 games of the 2025/26 season due to injury.
“It was just fun to be out there with the guys. It has been rough mentally for me. This is the first time I’ve started a basketball season and not played. Since I started playing basketball at like nine years old, I’ve never missed the start of a basketball season. Going through that physically, emotionally, and spiritually tested me. Keeping my head down with the work and keeping my head up with faith has gotten me to this point today. There was a lot of joy. Probably saw me smiling and talking a lot on the court today. Just being out there with those guys is so fun,” James said.
One of the biggest testaments to his longevity is the fact that 82 active NBA players were born after LeBron made his debut on October 29th, 2003.
When he learned that the Utah Jazz have seven players who weren’t even born when he began his NBA career, LeBron reacted with a smile:
“That just made my back hurt.”
He also spoke about his teammates, the team’s chemistry, and the brilliance of Luka Dončić.
“When you have an MVP caliber player, candidate like Luka, what he is doing this year. Austin Reaves jumped his game up to a whole other level this year. It’s only so many defenders out there. Our biggest test is how we defend each night… Not let teams off the hook offensively. When you have Luka, donig what he is doing on pick and rolls, he gravitets so many players around him, I can just lay back“, Lebron James concluded.