James’ birthday is an opportunity to trace in five points the essence of a champion who transformed the game forever
LeBron James turns 38. Twenty spent in the NBA, as an epochal phenomenon. As strong as the first day, it is often said circumstantially in these cases. Well, he’s stronger now, according to the figures: he scores 27.8 per game in a Lakers jersey, compared to 20.9 when as a boy prodigy he promised heaven and earth in Cleveland. He kept his word, then, even amid romantic chiaroscuro. Whether he’s the greatest ever in his sport is impossible to establish, and not just because his career isn’t over yet.