LeBron James sends heartfelt message to Los Angeles after showing out at Drew League with 42 points

By Zach Stevens
Updated: July 16, 2022

On Saturday, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James played in the Drew League, a famous Los Angeles-based pro-am league, for the first time since 2011.

He had a whale of a time, putting up 42 points and 16 rebounds, and afterward, he showed some love on Twitter.

Thank you @DrewLeague!! Loved the energy from start to finish! All for the city of 👼🏼's!! 🙏🏾🤎✊🏾👑 https://t.co/U4wovXaUuz

— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 16, 2022

It was a fun day for James in the middle of a serious offseason that could determine the path the rest of his career takes.

The Lakers are trying to trade Russell Westbrook for Kyrie Irving, a trade that would likely single-handedly make them championship contenders again.

But if the deal doesn’t happen and Westbrook is still on the roster come October, most would probably agree the team won’t be able to go further than the first or second round of the playoffs.

It’s easy, though, to imagine the possibilities if Irving ends up wearing the Purple and Gold.

Although one shouldn’t take too much from James’ performance on Sunday, given he wasn’t playing against the highest level of competition, it’s still a sign that even at age 37, he is still elite.

He averaged 30.3 points while shooting 52.4 percent from the field, to go along with 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game this past season.

If the Lakers had been title contenders, James would’ve been a leading MVP contender. The winner of the award, Nikola Jokic, played for the sixth-place Denver Nuggets, meaning James could’ve likely won his fifth MVP in that scenario.