SACRAMENTO — Midway through the first quarter Thursday night, LeBron James checked out against the Sacramento Kings, walking to the bench in the city where he played his first NBA regular season minutes more than 21 years ago.
It would be his last walk off the court before achieving another milestone. By the time his next shift ended in the second quarter, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes logged in the regular season, breaking the previous record of 57,446 minutes.
“I just think it’s just a commitment to the craft and to the passion and love I have for the game,” James said about his achievement — one in which he has spent more than 957 hours playing in professional basketball games.
Still, after all that time, James is capable of making winning plays — the chase down block, the key defensive stop and the bully-ball dagger all playing a role in helping the Lakers defeat the Kings 113-100.
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 25 points, James had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and despite a slow shooting night, Anthony Davis dominated with 21 points, four assists and season highs of 18 rebounds and six blocked shots. Davis also had three steals.
James ended the game at 57,471 career minutes after playing 34 minutes.
The Lakers play the Kings again Saturday afternoon.
The minutes record comes at a time when the Lakers and James have been very in touch with how much he has (and hasn’t) been playing. James missed two games and spent a week away from the team, getting a mental and physical reset after his left foot began to bother him.
He returned Sunday against Memphis and had noticeably more energy on both ends of the court. Coach JJ Redick said the team could look for other opportunities to give the soon-to-be 40-year-old more rest.
Speaking before the game, James said, more so than in the past, he could be open to that.
“I’m just not a guy that likes to sit games if I’m somewhat healthy. It doesn’t matter. It’s just, it’s never been my thing,” James said when asked about it. “If there’s an opportunity where it could benefit my body and benefit my play long-term for the better of the team, then I’m always open to having that conversation. So we’ll see what happens.”
The Lakers, who had three days off since their last game, had plenty of energy, using it against the Kings to storm out to an early 14-point lead on the backs of their much-improved defense.
With the Kings playing transition defense, the Lakers were able to create tons of open looks from the perimeter, making seven threes in the first quarter alone.
The game tightened in the second, the Kings taking the lead before the Lakers’ best players took control.
Reaves got to the line and hit big shots. Davis out-battled Domantas Sabonis, a player he’s now bested two games in a row. And James controlled the game without dominating the flow of it. Gabe Vincent, who has struggled to shoot the ball since joining the Lakers, hit four threes.
But it was defensively where the Lakers continued to play their best basketball, holding an opponent to 100 points or fewer for the third time in four games.