LeBron James knew his vintage performance against the Philadelphia 76ers called for a special celebration, so he pulled two iconic cellies from his bag and "meshed them" for the first time. He said he needed to.
He hit the "Silencer" before crowning himself after putting the Los Angeles Lakers up by five with a clutch jumper with 27.4 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
His age, injuries and his fit into the Lakers' system have led people to question whether James still has another season left in him. His eight-point performance against the Toronto Raptors , which snapped his historic scoring streak, did not help.
But tonight against the gritty Philly squad, LeBron gave the people an answer. He finished with 29 points, including 12 in the fourth, seven rebounds and six assists to steer the Lakers to a 112-108 win – reminding everyone why he is still King and that he is far from washed.
"I felt great. I felt really good when we had a shootaround this morning," James said after the game. "And I felt really good when I came out to play for the game too."
Austin Reaves had been struggling all night, and Luka Doncic , while brilliant through the first three quarters, only shot 1-of-4 from the field in the fourth. Clearly, it was the King's time to shine – and he did not disappoint.
With the Lakers down by two with less than five minutes to go, 100-98, James drilled a 22-foot jumper. After Andre Drummond 's dunk on the other end, the King responded with a triple to lead, 105-100.
Quentin Grimes and Joel Embiid kept the Sixers alive, tying the game at 105-all, but James snatched their souls with another 3-pointer for the lead. Then, with less than 50 ticks left, James sized up Grimes before drilling a fadeaway jumper, pushing the lead back up to five, 110-105.
Although Tyrese Maxey would drill a triple to make it a one-possession game, there was not enough time for them to pull off a comeback as Doncic sealed the victory with two free throws.
After the win, James admitted that he still was not 100 percent, but he knew he needed to step up for his team down the stretch. Hence, the heroics.
"You kind of just play the game…I figured in the fourth that Austin may have been a little tired. Obviously, we know the cross-country that Luka had to endure, " he said. "I had the opportunity, with some really good legs, to try to assert myself a little bit offensively."
After the Lakers' game against the Raptors, Bron did not play against the Boston Celtics . He sat out due to his nagging sciatica pain and left foot arthritis.
Because of his injuries, he was ruled questionable for their clash with Philadelphia. However, James managed to power through and eventually suit up.
He even delivered a vintage performance that enabled him to rise to second on the all-time regular-season wins list with 1,015, surpassing Celtics legend Robert Parish.
"Being a historian of the game and able to appreciate, that's what's most important for me," he said . "Appreciate the ones before me because they laid down the stones. They laid down the path and I'm trying to do the same thing for the next generation."
With over three weeks before his 41st birthday, the King has announced his return and sent a message across the league: he is not yet ready to give up the throne.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
