LeBron James didn’t have the biggest game of his career by any stretch of the imagination on Tuesday night, but his season debut did see him set an NBA record.
By playing in his first game of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers after missing the first 14 games due to sciatica, James has officially played in 23 NBA season — beating Vince Carter’s record of 22 seasons set in 2020.
James started Tuesday’s game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena, playing 30 minutes in L.A.’s 140-126 victory.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer put up 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, with one of those shots helping him make another mark in the league’s history books.
James hit two three-pointers in the game, with his second seeing him move past legendary sharpshooter Reggie Miller for sixth-most threes made in league history.
The 40-year-old James also had three rebounds, 12 assists and one steal in the win over Utah.
“It’s been a long time since he played basketball, so I think for the first game back, he looked amazing,” Lakers teammate Luka Doncic said after the game. “He’s going to keep getting his rhythm, and help us a lot.”
Doncic had a game-high 37 points to go with 10 assists in the game while Deandre Ayton also posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen starred for the Jazz in the losing effort, scoring 34 and 31 points, respectively.
LeBron’s son, Bronny James, played three minutes in the game, hitting his only shot in the blowout win.
After the game, LeBron was asked about his son’s development in his second NBA season, to which the 21-time NBA all-star cracked a joke about Bronny moving out.
“He’s not a resident anymore so we don’t talk as much, he has his own place,” LeBron said with a laugh.
He then looked over at Bronny in the locker room and said, “Bronny, how are you!?”
The Lakers’ next game is the back end of a home-and-home set against the Jazz, coming on Friday night in Utah. After that is a home date on Tuesday against the L.A. Clippers.