It’s safe to say that despite heading into his 20th NBA season, LeBron James is still looking like LeBron James.
During a Drew League game held in Los Angeles this past Saturday, James made a surprise appearance at the vaunted pro-am event — his first appearance since 2011.
The King dropped 42 points and single-handedly led his team, the Cheaters to a late game comeback after trailing late in the third quarter, ultimately winning the game 104-102 and leaving a lot of memorable highlights in the process.
At one point James got into it with the refs after missing a free throw and made sure to keep his brand loyalty with Nike by covering on the Adidas logo on his jersey — the league’s official sponsor.
these dudes might be in trouble. pic.twitter.com/9huelz08iN
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) July 16, 2022
The defender might want to keep this poster 😅👑pic.twitter.com/OWrhTAkw5V
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 16, 2022
LeBron Misses free throw then gets into argument with Drew League refs pic.twitter.com/GF6WNcpy0X
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 16, 2022
.@KingJames taped over the Adidas logo on his Drew League jersey 👀 pic.twitter.com/n1n26gi79R
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) July 16, 2022
As with anything LeBron does, many across Twitter had many funny and interesting reactions to the Lakers superstars’ performance.
"So we played LeBron James and DeMar Derozan, and we only lost by two with a chance to win at the buzzer"
"Sure grandpa, let's get you to bed" pic.twitter.com/VKXKDsrESp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 16, 2022
#21 in the car after defending LeBron James in Drew League pic.twitter.com/GncWGXle2j
— 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 ➐ (@MannyR___) July 16, 2022
Love it that LeBron played in the Drew League today. But: he shot only 2-13 from three??? He missed the late free throw that would've at least clinched overtime? Some things never change.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 17, 2022
When your squad dominating at Drew League and LeBron walk in pic.twitter.com/i6WFt2KtQ4
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) July 16, 2022
LeBron after his team barely won at the Drew League pic.twitter.com/tb9eM32mDg
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) July 16, 2022
The Drew League is a popular pro-am basketball league in L.A., attracting a large number of NBA players including James Harden, Kevin Durant, Paul George, and DeMar DeRozan — who was James’ teammate during Saturday’s game, dropping 30 points.
James was also supposed to be joined by former teammate Kyrie Irving but he ended up not showing up. The reason remains unapparent. As for their opponents, “Black Pearl Elite,” they featured no NBA players but still kept the game competitive.
I’m sure those average joes will tell the story of playing LeBron James and pass it down to relatives and friends for as long as they are alive.
About Jasper Jones
A native east coaster via Connecticut, Jasper is a writer for The Comeback and Audacy Sports. He decided to head south for college, attending the University of Kentucky and graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism. Prior to joining The Comeback, Jones spent a year writing for FanSided's college football blog, Saturday Blitz, covering news surrounding the sport and recruiting. He spent the same amount of time doing some freelance work for the tabloid/sports outlet BlackSportsOnline. In his free time, Jones loves to cheer on his Kentucky Wildcats, collect sneakers, read a good book, and get in some gains at the gym. You can follow him on Twitter @jonesj2342.