LeBron James’s first NBA game was a practice match in Detroit against Chauncey Billups’s Pistons.

On Friday, he was there again, but this time as a coach for the Trail Blazers in Portland. While he watched James work, his beard had some gray spots in it.

The NBA has had James for 7,351 days and he is still going strong. In Portland, he led the Lakers to a 107–95 win, which kept them unbeaten in the in-season event.

“He played like himself,” Anthony Davis said on the phone. “Like, the player who has ever scored the most points in league history.”

James shook his head after he slid to the basket for an early score. He looked at his arm after making a three-point shot. He flexed and shrugged his shoulders when he got hit in the fourth quarter.

At the end, he had 35 points, which was tied for his season high, and nine assists. He’s in his 21st NBA season and doesn’t seem to be coming down any time soon. James set up seven points in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers hold off Portland. They never fell behind in the game.

Billups said before the game, “It’s just crazy to see him now after seeing that.” “What he can do and what he can keep doing.” We’ll all tell our grandkids and other people that we saw that whole movie when we’re really old. That means that all of us are very fortunate to be able to say that.

It had been six nights of sick nights for James, who had played four games. The floor, on the other hand, didn’t look tired. “Once I step on the floor, I’m really excited to try to win and help my team win games,” James said. “That’s the same.”The Utah Jazz are the last team in the Lakers’ pool for the first game of the season. They will go straight to the single-elimination round if they win. The eight best players that coach Darvin Ham used all did well for the Lakers.Portland lost 19 times, which cost them 27 points. Cam Reddish’s point-of-attack defense played a part in some of those losses. After a slow start, Davis scored 16 points, grabbed 14 boards, stopped five shots, and stole three. Also, Christian Wood played great for the Lakers after coming off the bench. He got 10 rebounds and scored 10 points.The player called out, “Dude, I just want to win.” “I feel good about winning.” To protect myself, I bring my energy. Things aren’t quite the same as they were when I was a kid, but it’s the league. You should use every chance that comes your way. 

I think that’s pretty good, and as the season goes on, I’ll keep getting better. The Lakers have won four of their last five games. That’s all three of their playoff wins.”I’m sure it’s a reason.” James said, “We know what’s on the line early in the season when you play in the in-season tournament.” “For the in-season tournament, we’re not putting all of our eggs in one basket.” But we know what’s at stake every Tuesday and Friday when the games take place. Things are going well for us so far. This Sunday in Los Angeles, they play Houston.