LeBron James has stepped back onto the court – and did it the way only he can: he did not just play his first game of the season, he immediately rewrote league history. After missing training camp and the start of the regular season because of issues with his sciatic nerve, the Lakers forward finally appeared on the game sheet against Utah and turned an ordinary November evening into a moment for the NBA record book. His traditional toss of chalk dust into the air became something more on this night: in front of us stood the first player in league history to reach a 23rd season.
The King's Return: Debut of the 23rd Season
The matchup with the Jazz became the official starting point of a new stage in LeBron's career. The Lakers, playing at home, handled their opponent without much stress, winning 140–126 and securing their eleventh victory of the season. JJ Redick's team is firmly holding on near the top of the Western Conference standings and trails only Oklahoma City in total wins.
But the main storyline of the evening was not the score on the scoreboard, but the number 23 in the column marked "NBA seasons." Not so long ago, James shared the historical lead in career length with Vince Carter, who stopped at 22 seasons. Now LeBron is the sole record-holder, and legends like Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish with their 21 seasons have finally receded into the past.
23 Years in the League: New Hunts for Records
It feels as though LeBron has already completed every possible statistical achievement, yet the record books still contain a few lines waiting for his signature.
To surpass Robert Parish's all-time mark for regular-season games played, LeBron needs 49 more appearances – the Celtics center finished his career with 1,611 games. Another target is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: James is 346 field goals short of passing Kareem's total of 15,837 made shots from the field.
There is also a separate race in regular-season wins: right now, LeBron needs only 5 more victories to catch Parish at 1,014. At the same time, Kareem's record of 1,074 wins remains another summit ahead of him. The question is no longer whether James will break these marks in the coming months, but rather in which exact game statisticians will record yet another turning of the era.
Maestro of Playmaking: A Double-Double and a Decade-Old Alley-Oop
In his first outing of the season, LeBron chose not to stage a scoring show. In 30 minutes he took only seven shots from the field and scored 11 points, but focused on running the offense. The result was a clean and at the same time powerful double-double: 11 points and 12 assists with just one turnover. That level of control over tempo and the ball is evidence of basketball IQ as much as physical ability.
The Lakers' new center Deandre Ayton delivered an equally impressive performance: 20 points and 14 rebounds, and four of his made shots came directly off passes from James. After the game, Ayton recalled that this was not the first alley-oop he had received from LeBron.
"This is my second alley-oop from you... The first was when I was in eighth grade and came to your camp for school kids," the center smiled. More than ten years have passed since then, and the man who threw him that lob back then is still dominating the NBA.
Guard Austin Reaves could not resist making a joke and described his teammate in his usual ironic manner: "Pretty good G League player. The development league raised him." For a 23rd season, it sounds almost believable.
Reluctant Sharpshooter: From Doubts to Chasing Long-Range Legends
When LeBron entered the league in 2003, everyone spoke of him as a phenomenal athlete and a do-it-all forward, but almost no one labeled him an elite shooter. Two decades have passed, and now he is rewriting the history of three-point shooting.
In the game against Utah, James knocked down two long-range shots and, thanks to that, moved past Reggie Miller – one of the iconic three-point specialists of the 1990s – in total makes from beyond the arc. For a player who was criticized for years for an inconsistent jumper, this storyline is especially powerful: LeBron not only adapted to an era in which the three-pointer has become the primary weapon, he managed to integrate it into his arsenal so well that he has caught up with and surpassed historic sharpshooters.
A League Younger Than Him: 82 Players and an Endless Scoring Streak
The clearest indicator of James's longevity is not just the records, but also the age of his opponents. On Utah's 11-man roster for the game against the Lakers, five players had not even been born when LeBron made his NBA debut in 2003. Those five are Keyonte George, who scored 34 points in this game, rookie starter Ace Bailey, as well as Isaiah Collier, Cody Williams and Brice Sensabaugh. Across the entire league, there are 82 such players. In effect, nearly half of the generation playing against James today has known him as an NBA player since the day they were born – or even later.
At the same time, LeBron continues a streak that seems almost surreal. Since 2007 he has not finished a single game with single-digit points: he has scored at least 10 points in 1,293 consecutive regular-season games. For many stars, that could be their total number of games played in an entire career; for James, it is a separate record track that he keeps extending even after crossing the 40-year mark.
The James Era Continues
LeBron's return this season is not just another veteran comeback, but yet another reminder that we are living in a truly unique era for basketball. He has already become the all-time leader in NBA seasons played, is closing in on records for games, wins and field goals, is passing legendary shooters and still remains a key figure on a team fighting for the top of the West.
Every time James steps onto the floor, it turns into a small historical milestone. As long as his body can handle the workload and his motivation does not fade, it feels as if the limits of what one player can achieve in the NBA still have not been defined. The LeBron era did not end with his 23rd season – it has simply moved to a new level, where even time itself looks less like an opponent and more like a bystander on the stat sheet.
