Lebron James and the Lakers welcomed the Phoenix Suns on Friday evening in California.
The Lakers came from behind to win by a score of 123-116 despite trailing by as much as 22 points.
James finished with 21 points, four rebounds and eight assists while shooting 7/13 from the field and 2/5 from the three-point range in 35 minutes of playing time.
Despite turning 40 in December, James is still among the best players in the NBA.
He also made a surprising statement after the victory.
Via Jovan Buha of The Athletic: “LeBron James said he will play tomorrow vs. Sacramento and plans on playing all 82 games this season barring injury.”
While injury is always possible, the fact that James is not willing to rest is a good sign for Lakers fans.
James finished last season with averages of 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 54.0% from the field and 41.0% from the three-point range in 71 games.
This will be his seventh year playing for the Lakers (and 22nd in the NBA).
The Lakers are a perfect 2-0 on the new season (they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 110-103 on Tuesday).
After they host the Kings, they will begin a road trip that starts with visiting the Suns on Monday evening in Arizona.
As for the Suns, they dropped to 1-1 in their first two games.
They will now host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday evening.
