All good things must come to an end.
While LeBron James has been the king of longevity, in the midst of a record 23rd NBA season, Father Time comes for everyone just the same.
The league’s all-time leading scorer saw his remarkable streak of 1,297 straight games of scoring at least 10 points snapped against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
James finished — what ended up as a 123-120 win for his Los Angeles Lakers — with just eight points on 4-of-17 shooting from the field. It’s his lowest scoring total since Jan. 5, 2007.
It wasn’t all bad for the future Hall of Famer, as James finished with 11 assists, including a dish to Rui Hachimura, who nailed a triple at the buzzer to sink the Raptors.
James joked after the game that he “won’t make it a habit” when asked about his streak ending, adding that “win, lose or draw, you make the right play … that’s just how I always play the game.”
The 21-time all-star’s stretch of 1,297 consecutive games with at least 10 points was over 400 more games than the second-longest such streak held by Michael Jordan (866).
James had played just five games this season before Thursday, after being sidelined with sciatica to start the year. It’s been a slow start for the 41-year-old, who entered the night averaging a career-low 15.2 points to go with 4.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists.
“I’m still figuring my rhythm, figuring out everything, as far as offensively, knowing I can still make an impact on the floor when I’m out there,” said James. “But I’m still trying to feel it out.”
Even still, it was somewhat poetic that, although the Raptors snapped James’s historic streak, he was still able to deliver the game-winning assist against the franchise he’s routinely tormented over the years.
The Raptors have not beaten LeBron James or the Lakers in Toronto since 2022.
After the game, Scottie Barnes — who stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and a steal — spoke glowingly of James when asked about the veteran’s impact on the game after more than two decades in the NBA.
“Some guys are just natural scorers, and he’s been so dominant in the game for so long, so you wouldn’t even be surprised. It’s LeBron,” said the Raptors franchise star. “You wouldn’t be surprised at that point, with him doing (that).
“His athleticism, the way he reads the game, how fast he is, how strong, physical. It’s pretty hard to guard and hard to stop (him), so that’s why he is LeBron James.”
— with files from the Canadian Press