Recapping One of the Wildest Weeks in Lebron’s Career

Lebron James is considered the face of the NBA, but even by his standards, the past week has been one of the wildest in the league. This player has played like Superman by scoring 25 points straight in a playoff game against Detroit in 2007. He is the same legendary player who struggled to deliver for his team in the 2011 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. After climbing to the mountaintop, James won back-to-back thanks to a miraculous shot by Ray Allen in the 2013 NBA Finals. Lebron will admit that the 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors to capture the city’s NBA Championship was his greatest achievement. In this article, we will recap the last four games and an interview in recapping one of the wildest weeks in his career.

1. March 22 Lakers lose at home to the Chicago Bulls 146-115: Lebron made his long-awaited return from a groin injury he sustained in a game against the Boston Celtics on March 8. The Lakers went 3-4 in his absence, and there was a feeling that the team could rediscover their form before the injury. However, the exact opposite happened with the return of King James. The Bulls took a 65-61 lead into halftime but outscored the Lakers 39-27 in the third quarter and 42-26 in the fourth. Coby White had a game-high 36 points, while rookie forward Matas Buzelis added a career-high 31 points. Josh Giddey ended with a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists and eight steals. The Lakers allowed the Bulls to score a whopping 74 points in the paint compared to their 42. Lebron mustered only 17 points in the game.

2. March 24 Lakers lose 118-106 at the Orlando Magic: the Lakers headed east for a four-game trip starting in Orlando. The Lakers led this game 60-58 at halftime and were in a position to pull this win out. Again, they fell flat in the third quarter by being outscored 34-18 in the third quarter. Similar to the Bulls game, the team suffered from poor offensive execution, outrebounded and out-hustled by their opponent. There was an uptick in Lebron’s performance because he scored 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. The Lakers were suffering from tired legs, having played six games in eight days and then taking a six-hour flight to Orlando. However, it was their third straight loss, and they were suddenly sliding in the West standings.

3. March 25 ESPN interview with Pat McAfee: Lebron sat down with Pat McAfee for an hour-long interview in what was dubbed the “Lebronversation”. It was unusual for James to give such a wide-ranging interview about his entire career and his opinion on the landscape of basketball. In the interview, James revealed that he did not have a close relationship with Michael Jordan. Also, Lebron revealed he signed with Nike at the start of his career because of the massive contract and not to rival Michael Jordan. He spoke about how the media’s coverage of basketball is terrible and how much control Pat Riley exercised over the team in removing chocolate chip cookies from the team plane. James also delved into his issues with ESPN personality Stephen A Smith and Basketball Insider Brian Windhorst. The interview aired on Wednesday, March 26, when the team was playing in McAfee’s hometown, Indiana Pacers, on ESPN.

4. March 26 Lakers defeated the Pacers 120-119: The Lakers led this game 68-55 at halftime and had this game in control. However, the third-quarter meltdown continued with the Pacers outscoring the Lakers 37-27 in the period, and Lebron had just scored 3 points until that point in the game. James was in danger of a double-digit scoring record ending at 1,283 days. However, Lebron had a quick fourth-quarter spurt by scoring 8 points to erase the danger of the streak ending and putting the Lakers in charge with a 105-92 lead. The lead didn’t last, and with 42 seconds left in the game, Tyrese Halliburton made a three-point play that propelled the Pacers into a 119-118 advantage. After two empty possessions by both teams, Doncic had the ball in his hands to close out the game, but the shot bounced off the rim. However, Lebron was in position for the improbable put-back tip-in at the buzzer for a wild win. The game-winning buzzer-beater was James 8th in his career, tied with Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson and one behind Michael Jordan.

5. March 27 Lakers lose to the Bulls 119-117: the Lakers were looking for revenge when they traveled to Chicago to avenge their embarrassing home loss to the same team the week before. The challenge was that they had to do it on a road back-to-back after the euphoric win in Indiana. The two teams were nearly even in the first half, with the Lakers holding a narrow 59-58 lead. The Lakers finally bucked the third-quarter blues by outscoring the Bulls 32-17 in the third quarter. So all they had to do was close it out in the fourth, but they collapsed, and the lead dwindled. The Lakers had a 115-110 lead with 10 seconds left, but Patrick Williams scored a three-pointer to cut the deficit. Lebron then made an errant in-bounce pass that led to a Coby White three-pointer to give the Bulls a one-point lead. Austin Reeves then made a quick driving lay-up with 3.1 seconds left. With no timeout left, the Bulls had to get the ball up the court, and Josh Giddey made it to halfcourt and attempted a Hail Mary three-point shot from halfcourt to stun the Lake show. J.J. Reddick described it as a devastating loss and it capped a wild week in year 22 of Lebron James.