The Los Angeles Lakers will face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening game of their first-round matchup on Saturday. While most of the attention will be on newcomer Luka Doncic making his Lakers playoff debut, LeBron James will be making a little more NBA history.
He is set to become the first player in NBA history to appear in the playoffs in season 22 of their career. He is just the second player in league history to play in 22 regular seasons, joining Hall-of-Famer Vince Carter.
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LeBron is set to become the first player in NBA history to appear in the playoffs in Year 22. The only other player to play a 22nd regular season was Vince Carter:
LeBron: 70 games, 24.4P, 7.8R, 8.2A
Carter: 60 games (15 MPG) 5.0P, 2.1R, 0.8ATruly unprecedented.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 18, 2025
James’ ability to play at an All-NBA level for 22 years is something that the league has never seen. He put up 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game on a blistering 51.3% from the field this season.
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James has never missed a single playoff game due to injury and he looks to keep up that streak this postseason. The Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of last year’s playoffs, but the new-look roster has been on a strong streak as of late.
Thanks to Doncic, James may not need to be the first option for the Lakers this postseason, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that James will make the right play when the pressure is on.
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusive, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
