In professional sports, it is the ultimate rarity to have an athlete play so great so late into their career.
We most recently saw it with Tom Brady, and before that (PED allegations aside) with Barry Bonds.
Whatever your opinion on Los Angeles Laker superstar LeBron James, his body of work, in year 21, cannot help but be respected. He, too, is another one that is going blow for blow with what we call Father Time.
And he has proven his greatness once again in the NBA's first iteration of the In-Season Tournament.
At age 38, James is still playing at a very high level. Over his last six games, he is averaging 26.8 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.5 rebounds , including four 30+ point outings, with his two most recent coming in the quarterfinal and semifinal games of the tournament. Hosting the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 5, James put up 31 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds on 12-for-25 from the field in 40 minutes. And, on Thursday Dec. 7, he posted 30 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds on 9-for-12 shooting in just 23 minutes.
Tuesday against the Suns, James played 40 minutes and hit some crucial shots, one of which, a transition three with 7:37 to go in the game that put the home team up 94-89, forced former Laker head coach Frank Vogel to call a timeout. The Lakers held on to win by three, 106-103, with a questionable timeout call granted by the officials playing a vital part. Still, in a game where perennial all-stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker represented the opposition, James looked like the best player on the court.
Thursday, though, was an all-time display from James, who made all four of his three-point attempts in his team's 133-89 drubbing of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Moreover, James also looked like the youngest player on the floor, when he had no reason to.
The Pelicans, boasting the trio Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum, got mostly futile efforts from their big names (Ingram and McCollum combined to shoot just 8-for-27 from the field, while center Jonas Valanciunas was just 3-for-9 and only grabbed three rebounds). Williamson, by his own admission after the game, was not aggressive enough, taking just eight shots (though he did make six), finishing with 13 points but only 2 rebounds. If there is a criticism of Williamson (who has had a strong year so far averaging 22.2/5.6 rebounds/4.8 assists on 57 percent from the field in just 31 minutes per game (the lowest since his rookie season), it is that he should be, for his size, a better rebounder.
Back to the 38-year-old, though, James has little business being the best player on a court with three other all-star players (Williamson, Ingram, and James' own teammate Anthony Davis) who all have youth and talent on their side.
Even still, James stamped his presence with an 18-point second quarter on Thursday night, including a trio of three-pointers early in the frame as part of a 9-2 Laker run, the last of which was a heat check pull-up from 30 feet. The Lakers took a 67-54 lead into the half, which they never relinquished as the game progressed. They blitzed the Pelicans in the third quarter to the tune of outscoring them 43-17, and a game that was highly anticipated as the marquee semi-final matchup in Las Vegas in the league's first in-season tournament quickly turned into a laugher.
James' marksmanship from deep in the contest seemed to be a rarity for him, a short barrage that is more common in the game's most potent snipers. However, James' exhibition just provided additional proof that when he wants to turn it on, he can do it with the best of them.
With the first ever in-season tournament championship in clear focus, and the league's first NBA Cup on the line on Saturday evening, it will not be surprising if James pulls out another vintage performance. As he has gotten older and later into his career, he has shown that he can, while maybe not still having the ability to show it over a full 82 games, look like the best player in the game when the situation calls for it.
The final will be a stern test for the Lakers (14-9), who will face an Indiana Pacer team (12-8), that impressively knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks in their semifinal game on Thursday, 128-119. Pacer point guard Tyrese Haliburton has been all-world so far this season, averaging 26.9 points, 12.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds. Against the Bucks, Halburton posted 27 points, 15 assists, and 7 rebounds, while committing zero turnovers. Against the Boston Celtics in the quarterfinal, he had a triple double (26/13 assists/10 rebounds), including a step-back three-pointer plus the foul with 1:33 remaining, a four-point play that put the Pacers up 109-105, effectively sealing the Celtics' fate. Haliburton is the only player in league history to record at least 50 points and 25 assists in a two-game span while committing zero turnovers. He also has three games of 25-plus points, 15-plus assists, and zero turnovers this season, while no other player in league history, since turnovers were officially tracked in 1977-78, has more than one.
It remains to be seen if the Lakers will have a defensive answer for Haliburton (perhaps they will trap him to get the ball out of his hands, and/or use the length of defensive minded forward Jarred Vanderbilt to help curtail Haliburton). The same, though, can be said for the Pacers with James. In what will be the first high stakes game between the two teams since Game 6 of the 2000 NBA Finals, the game has the potential to be one of the best we will see all season.
And if the old guy in LA has anything to say about it, the Lakers may very well be going home with a title. It would be another body blow for Father Time, from someone who is keen on delivering a knockout punch.
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