NBA world erupts after LeBron James drops season-high 47 points on his 38th birthday

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James celebrated his 38th birthday on Friday with a vintage performance versus the Atlanta Hawks.

He had 47 points on 18-of-27 shooting, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead his team to a 130-121 win, and a number of current and former NBA stars congratulated him on his big game.

James has played remarkable all-around ball in the month of December, just as he did last season, and it is a testament to how diligently he takes care of his body and mind. He reportedly invests over $1 million a year to stay on top of his health, and it has clearly paid off.

The one thing he hasn’t done well all season is hit from 3-point range, but over the last couple of games, that part of his game has shown signs of coming around. He went 4-of-6 from downtown on Friday after hitting 2-of-5 from that distance in Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat.

The Lakers are now 2-2 on their current five-game road trip, and with the good news about Anthony Davis’ recovery from a stress injury in his foot, perhaps they have what it takes to hold down the fort until he returns, especially if he returns sometime in January.

With each game, James creeps closer and closer to the all-time NBA career scoring record, which is held by Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 38,387 points during his illustrious career. Many feel James will break his record within a couple of months as long as he remains healthy and continues to be efficient offensively.

But at this point, what is more important, both to James and everyone else, is getting wins in bunches.

With a 15-21 record, Los Angeles has almost no margin for error. If it misses the playoffs again, it would mean it has failed to reach the postseason three times in James’ five years with the team, which would undoubtedly give his critics lots of ammunition.