The King has returned.
After missing a week with a sore left foot, which derailed his quest to appear in all 82 games this season, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James returned to the lineup and had 18 points in Sunday’s 116-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
He flirted with a triple-double, hauling in eight rebounds and dishing out eight assists in the victory.
James looked like his old self in the return, having a vintage LeBron sequence in the early minutes. The future hall-of-famer threw down a ferocious dunk on one end of the court, then responded with a chase-down block on a layup attempt from Grizzlies forward Desmond Bane.
LEBRON DUNK AND CHASEDOWN BLOCK 🤯
WHAT A SEQUENCE ‼️ pic.twitter.com/sW6txd2Ync
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 16, 2024
After the game, James said his foot was still sore, but the break helped him get to where he needed to be to manage the injury mentally and physically.
James and the Lakers will now be tested. They have four games in six days, starting Thursday against the Sacramento Kings and ending with a Christmas night finale against the Golden State Warriors.
Social media has plenty to say about James’ dunk and block and his return in general.
“Insane how he keeps doing this in his 40s,” one fan posted.
One observer isn’t a fan of LeBron’s chase-down blocks, saying it results from poor team defense. “I wish this damn team would stop having the near 40 yr old man having to go coast to coast on a regular basis. Just defend the transition,”
Another fan loved the sequence, though. “Nasty dunk and nasty block,” they noted.
One poster kept it short and sweet, simply saying, “He’s back.”
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