THE FINISH LINE

As the Golden State Warriors dynasty fades into non-existence after their problems with ageing, chemistry and injury the 35-year-old – yes 35 year old  – LeBron James is still alive and kicking. And then some. As someone who’s been watching for the last decade or so, I’m not the most experienced basketball nut out there, but from what I can gather what you are witnessing from LeBron is nothing short of miraculous and may never be seen again.

LeBron James, a 6’8” forward playing out of St Vincent St Mary High School, Ohio, USA has been a phenom on the basketball court for just under 2 decades and is undeniably special. He is the lethal combination of rare traits that have created one of the most, if not the most, pure athlete in history. He is ambidextrous, tall, built, powerful, and has a  borderline photographic memory, his is a symphony of the biological orchestra.

I bring this up because, as of late, the 35 ye=ar old, who according to history should be well past his best before date, is anything but. In successive games he has beaten two of his biggest competitors, the Bucks and reigning MVP Giannis Atetokounmpo and rival team, the Los Angeles Clippers in successive games. His sheer physical domination was best demonstrated by his defending of the traditionally unstoppable Giannis to 7 points while his freakish basketball IQ was shown through his unique ability to distribute the ball. He managed to record near 30 point near-triple-doubles in both. The funny thing is these two games, which were two of the biggest in his Laker’s regular season, aren’t one-offs. He is having one of the best seasons of his career. Usually operating as a muscle forward player, one who can bully and overpower defenders to score, he is now acting as the main ball passer for his team for the first time. He will finish this season leading in assists. The fact that someone can essentially switch roles that late into the career and be the clear and outright best at that new role is almost unexplainable. 

Barring any serious injury, LeBron will be the highest scoring player of all time despite passing being the best quality of his game. I can barely sum up what makes Lebron James so unique in this slot of mine. He is the most talented basketball player that has ever lived and it’s not even a debate anymore. He is Jonah with DC’s left boot, Aaron smith’s passing, and Richie’s ticker, he is basketball in the human form. Lap it up while you still can. 

Now that the erection LeBron James gave me has died down a little I’ll move on to the other sports that only gave me a mild semi over the week. The Chiefs appear to have had a mana transplant since their defeat at the hands of the Brumbies, managing to abuse the Warratahs 51-14, scoring 38 unanswered points in the second half. 

Coronavirus is affecting sports left right and centre. Serie A has been basically shut down leaving Italian football fans high and dry. The F1 Grand Prix has been cancelled in China.

One of the coolest New Zealanders on the planet right now, second only to Helen Clark, Israel Adesanya, has defended his title against Yoel Romero. The fight was a little how ya going with neither fighter wanting to throw any hands until late in the piece. 

Sports done for another week. Stay Tuned.