It’s been a pretty good start to LeBron James’ 40s. Since becoming the 32nd player to play in his 40s, James has averaged 30.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 57.1% from the field, 62.5% from deep, and 75% from the free-throw line. Obviously, it’s a small sample size — two games — but the trend is clear: while Father Time is finally getting to James, it’s happening slowly, and he’s still by far the best 40-year-old in league history.
James will play his third game as a 40-year-old tonight, as his Los Angeles Lakers will welcome the Atlanta Hawks to Crypto.com Arena for a 10:30 p.m. ET matchup. Atlanta is a solid 18-16, although it is coming off a blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets on New Year’s Day.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Lakers (-135) are slight favorites and the point total is set to 231.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around The King.
Best LeBron James Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
LeBron James O9.5 Assists (+110)
Friday’s clash is interesting, because Los Angeles doesn’t score much and Atlanta doesn’t stop much. The Lakers rank in the bottom half of the league in points per game (112.0), and their offensive intensity seems to ebb and flow from game to game. Meanwhile, the Hawks have given up more points per game than all but four teams (119.4), all with losing records. The fact that Atlanta plays at the second-fastest pace in the league doesn’t help its defensive woes.
In particular, the Hawks struggle against teams that thrive on ball movement, as point guard Trae Young can be known to gamble for steals and fall asleep off the ball and forwards Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher are young and inexperienced. As a result, Atlanta allows 28.6 assists per game, the fourth-most of any team. Nuggets center Nikola Jokić — one of five players who has recorded more assists than James this season — dropped 15 dimes on the Hawks in less than 30 minutes of playing time on January 1.
Meanwhile, James has seen a slight uptick in his ball-handling role since Los Angeles traded point guard D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. While Russell thrives as a lead ball handler and isolation scorer, Finney-Smith is a spot-up shooter and Milton a reserve. For the season, James is averaging 86.1 touches per game, but that has increased slightly to 91.5 since the Lakers traded away Russell. His potential assists have increased from 16.0 to 21.0 per game over that span.
LeBron James 40+ Points (+1100)
Let me start with a quick history lesson:
There has been exactly one 40-year-old in league history to drop 40 or more points in a game.
It was Michael Jordan, who scored 43 points in a win over the New Jersey Nets on February 21, 2003. He was exactly 40 years and four days old. Today, James is exactly 40 years and four days old.
I doubt even James, with his encyclopedic knowledge of NBA history, knows Jordan’s exact age when he scored 40 points for the last time. Still, James has made no secret that his entire career has been built around chasing Jordan’s legacy. It seems like no player in NBA history has cared more about the narratives surrounding him, and no player has a more noteworthy flair for the dramatic.
It wouldn’t exactly be surprising for James to score 40 tonight, especially if co-star Anthony Davis, who missed last night’s win with an ankle injury, can’t play. He scored 38 points last night in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, and with Davis sidelined, Los Angeles doesn’t really have any reliable scoring options besides James and, arguably, Austin Reaves. Why not root for one more moment of magic from a man whose career has been full of them?
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