At the age of 32, LeBron James probably isn’t at his pure physical peak anymore. If you asked the Detroit Pistons on Thursday evening, though, they would probably disagree.
The Pistons withstood LeBron’s onslaught of 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 1o6-101 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills but, on a night when James produced his 50th career triple-double, he also managed to put on a slam dunk clinic. The reigning NBA Finals MVP got started early and, needless to say, he never slowed down.
James teamed with All-Star teammate Kyrie Irving for a powerful, two-handed throw down.
👑@KingJames at The Palace. https://t.co/zbTDfplFO6
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 10, 2017
Then, he spun past Detroit’s Stanley Johnson for a ridiculous dunk that also netted him a trip to the free throw line on the back end.
.@KingJames is having a jam session in Motown.#DefendTheLand https://t.co/50xFOsr6Rb
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 10, 2017
For good measure, LeBron reminded everyone of his ball-handling prowess and elusiveness by knifing through the entire Pistons defense.
👑LeDunk James 👑 pic.twitter.com/3BcipVYXgO
— NBA (@NBA) March 10, 2017
The open floor was also LeBron’s playground.
That's '03 Bron Bron. #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/OX0YkRbMgo
— NBA (@NBA) March 10, 2017
Neither Marcus Morris nor Tobias Harris could do a thing to slow down the train.
Too strong. https://t.co/9WUW5pPo9F
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 10, 2017
And, finally, LeBron went out of his way to annihilate Harris with the dunk of the night in the Association.
All told, James finished the 39-minute performance with seven (!) dunks and, as you might expect, he generated quite a bit of fanfare for his performance.
Not sure how you could watch this game and walk away thinking the MVP is someone other than LeBron James.
— conrad kaz (@conradkaz) March 10, 2017
What's that 9 dunks tonite for @KingJames #YoungLegs
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 10, 2017
Nights like tonight are why LeBron is the clear cut MVP. He's 29-13-10 & +17 in 39 minutes. Cavs were a pitiful -22 in 9 minutes w/o him.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) March 10, 2017
This was a wildly impressive performance from James even without the dunks because, again, it was another triple-double that placed him in select company.
No. 50.
LeBron James becomes just the 7th player in NBA history to record 50 career triple-doubles. pic.twitter.com/Unh8bvD9mo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 10, 2017
In the end, though, dunks generate attention like nothing else in the game of basketball and LeBron James put on a big-time show in Detroit on Thursday.