James plays best game yet as Sixer, provides ‘calming presence’ and clutch plays

James plays best game yet as Sixer, provides ‘calming presence’ and clutch plays originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers didn’t need their 22-time All-Star to do it all Friday night.

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Still, they needed him to be what everyone pictures when they hear LeBron James — no caveats about being almost 42 years old, saving his best for bigger games or memories of what he was once.

James provided exactly that, tallying 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the 5-1 Sixers’ NBA Cup win over the Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena. He did much more than a little bit of everything.

“Best game all around,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said of James. “He’s been good, but that was his best game for sure.”

There have always been elements of James’ greatness that would stick out to someone who barely knew the rules of basketball. He’s a physical force who muscles through defenses, fires astounding passes and lofts in elegant fadeaway jumpers. James’ clutch plays Friday included a late mid-range bucket over OG Anunoby and a game-icing put-back layup with 11.9 seconds left off of Tyrese Maxey’s miss.

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His game has always had a subtle side, too.

“Leadership,” Maxey said after his 27-point outing. “Calming presence. He helped get a lot of rebounds. He’d help get the ball and calm it down.

“He was great. At the end of the day, it’s LeBron James. At the end of the day, he can do stuff like he did tonight, getting a couple of big buckets.”

Maxey handled his postgame media duties in the Sixers’ locker room before James. The All-NBA guard was ready to go but realized he didn’t have a shirt, so James tossed him one. Though perhaps a bit baggy, it got the job done.

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James has enjoyed his early days as Maxey’s teammates following years of summer workouts and mentorship.

“He has never been late for a workout,” James said. “This is Tyrese’s seventh year with the Sixers? We’ve worked out for six straight summers and he’s never been late. And he actually tried to beat me to a couple workouts, and he was successful. Then I started showing up a lot earlier and he was like, ‘OK, you’ve got it from…

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Publish date : 2026-10-31 09:00:00

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