Lakers win 50 games, but LeBron James' historic 20-year streak ends

LA Lakers guard LeBron James has undisputably been one of the greatest stories in league history. Competing in a record-equaling 22nd season, the four-time champion has continued to showcase that Father Time is just a farce, creating and breaking records glaore.

However, with the 2024-25 regular season coming to an end, one long-standing record that has spanned two decades is coming to an end. LeBron has had at least 25 points per game since his sophomore 2004-05 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That season, LeBron averaged 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. The only time he failed to achieve the 25-point mark was in his rookie season where he averaged 20.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 5.9 apg.

This season, James has averaged 24.4 ppg, 8.2 apg, 7.7 rpg, shooting 51.3%. However, he will take solace from the fact that the Lakers have avoided the Play-In tournament for the first time in two seasons, clinching the third seed in the Western Conference.

Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday (0) defends against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Lakers secured the third seed after a dominant 140-109 win against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. The win gave the Lakers their first 50-win season since 2020.

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Coach JJ Redick provides LeBron James injury update

LeBron James, in the win against the Rockets, sat out the remainder of the game after appearing to tweak his groin in the third quarter. He has dealt with groin issues this season, missing seven games last month.

Coach JJ Reddick shared James' injury status, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic:

"JJ Redick says LeBron James is fine despite looking like he tweaked his left groin," Buha tweeted.

James ended the Rockets game with 14 points, four rebounds and eight assists. He's not expected to play against the Portland Trail Blazers in the last regular season game on Sunday, as he's expected to be fresh and ready for the postseason.