35 year old Lebron "King" James is absolutely dominating his 17th season.
2 days after exclaiming that the MVP award meant nothing to the King, Lebron bodied up Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Lakers 113-103 win over the NBA's top dogs, the Milwaukee Bucks. Lebron dominated his way to 37 points on 12/21 SA/SM, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, beating Giannis Antetokounmpo on both ends to tie the teams' season series at 1-1.
Lebron, who is a decade older than the Greek Freak at 35, didn't let Giannis breathe, snatching the ball out of his hands and taking away his baskets. Antetokounmpo had eight points on 3/5 shooting in the third quarter, finishing with 32 points and 11 rebounds.
Two nights later, Lebron went on again to absolutely thrive against the Clippers. Even though Lebron had a solid night offensively, putting up 28 points, it was his defense all weekend long that was getting him MVP chants in both games.
The Lakers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. That was the last season Lebron made it to the all-defensive first team. It was also the last time he was in the top 10 for defensive win shares, for which he now sits in 7th. For all of the talk about him leading the league in assists, moving up the ranks in all-time scoring or icing Sunday’s matchup with the Clippers with a three-point play with 40 seconds left, Lebron's defense is the reason the Lakers came 2-0 this weekend.
The King's defense is what has him in a close race with reigning MVP champion The Greek Freak.