The Grizzlies vs. Lakers game from last night saw the Lakers march out to a comfortable 136-124 win. During the game, the league's oldest player LeBron James was guarded by the league's youngest player G.G. Jackson. Jackson revealed what it was like to match up with James after the game.
"No (interaction), other than him hitting fadeaways and f***ing us up, not really."
This was a good matchup between LeBron and GG, but the Grizzlies couldn't overwhelm the Lakers without stars like Ja Morant and Marcus Smart. LeBron himself was coming off an ankle injury, putting up 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. GG Jackson put up just 10 points in the blowout loss.
Jackson was born on 17 December 2004. To put that in context to LeBron, he lost to the Pistons in a 69-81 game as a second-year player in the NBA when Jackson was born. A lot of young players LeBron faces up against nowadays weren't even born when he made his NBA debut, which has to be a weird thought for James himself.
Jackson is having a good rookie season, averaging 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists after being a second-round pick for the Grizzlies in the 2023 NBA Draft.
LeBron James' Longevity Is Unparalleled
LeBron James has written a new standard of success for an NBA player, especially one that plays deep into his career. Up until now, we saw stars like Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, and Dirk Nowitzki play deep into their career while being a shell of their former selves. While James isn't the version of himself from 2014, he's still among the best players in the NBA and easily the best at his age.
James is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists this season, likely finding a home in one of the three All-NBA Teams. If that happens, it'll be LeBron's 20th All-NBA selection, by far the most for a single player in history. He holds the record for most All-Star appearances as well and has one of the most famous records in NBA history, which is the all-time scoring title.
Kevin Durant recently hailed LeBron's longevity as the new standard of greatness.
"When you are 39 in your 20th year and half of your life is in the league and you have played against 40% of players to have ever played in the league. That longevity has to mean something. That has to be a standard."
We're seeing more people follow in LeBron's footsteps and excel late into their prime. Durant is an example himself, as he's in Year 17 and is on track to make an All-NBA team himself at age 36. Stephen Curry is the same age as Durant and is also playing like a star late into his career.
All players value their longevity now, so James will soon be playing against players who are so young that they weren't even around to see him make his first NBA Finals run in 2007, let alone when he was drafted.
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