LOS ANGELES _ As his 35th birthday approached, LeBron James made the same kinds of jokes about aging that anyone does when reaching a new life milestone. For a professional athlete it can be more pointed, as most NBA players finish their careers long before their 35th birthdays.
But James' performance in his first week as a 35-year-old wrote a different narrative. He had a spring in his step that seemed to be fading during December. As it turned out, the Los Angeles Lakers' James just needed a few nights at home.
Consequently, James earned his second Western Conference player of the week honor of the season for the week of Dec. 30 (his birthday) through Jan. 5. During that span James averaged a triple double with 23 points, 11.7 rebounds, 12.7 assists and 1.3 steals per week. The Lakers won all three games they played against the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Pistons.
"However the game presents itself, whatever this team needs to do, whether they need me to be in the teens in scoring, or teens in assists, I can do that," James said. "They need me to be high in the 20s or in the 30s in scoring, I can do that as well. Just trying to keep the defense, just trying to keep them guessing so they don't quite know what I'm gonna do coming off pick-and-rolls or transition. The one thing I do know I'm gonna see is a lot of eyes."
Player of the week nominees included Phoenix's Devin Booker, Oklahoma City's Chris Paul, Houston's James Harden and Lakers star Anthony Davis. Davis has also won the award twice this season. His first award marked the first time since 2013 that a Lakers player was given the honor. Then it was Kobe Bryant, who also holds the record for most Western Conference player of the week awards by a Laker in one season. He earned it five times each during the 2005-06 season and the 2002-03 season.
James has earned a weekly award 63 times, but 61 of them were in the Eastern Conference, where he spent his career before arriving in Los Angeles last season.
