Revisiting LeBron James' last 5 outings on NBA opening night

LeBron James will begin the 2021-22 NBA regular season by going against the formidable Golden State Warriors on October 19th. In a rematch of the play-in game that, in essence, killed GSW's hopes of making it to the playoffs, the LA Lakers will flaunt their newly built roster.

The LA Lakers seem to have built an offensive superpower. Three of their main attack force members, namely Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and James, are offensive masters. All three averaged at least 21 points per game in the 2020-21 regular season. Meanwhile, James, the highest scorer amongst the three, averaged 25 points per game.

LeBron James is all set to play on October 19th against the Golden State Warriors

LeBron James, the strongest player on the Lakers roster, has remained one of the most anticipated players in the NBA for almost two decades. His charisma and crowd drawing abilities are incomparable. For this reason, for NBA schedules are not built on chance, he has played in five of the last six season's opening night games and will play again on October 19th, taking the count to 6 out of 7 seasons.

#1 Versus the LA Clippers (December 22, 2020)

The city of Los Angeles has two NBA teams and will continue to do so until the LA Clippers move to Inglewood, California. With two top-notch teams sharing a stadium and a city, rivalry is inevitable. And such fierce rivalry is the perfect recipe for all-out battles capable of enticing the crowds and fans to levels beyond comprehension.

So, the match between the Lakers and Clippers on December 22, 2020 after the forced hiatus due to an unprecedented pandemic was the perfect way to start the season. Although the duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard steamrolled their opponents to take the game 116-109, the performance by LeBron James was quite commendable.

Aged 35 at the time the match was played, LeBron James scored 22 points in 28 minutes and 21 seconds. During his scoring spree, he launched eight three-pointers and converted three of them. He also recorded five assists and five rebounds.

#2 Versus the LA Clippers (October 22, 2019)

On October 22,2019, before a virus put the world to a global halt, the Clippers clashed with the LA Lakers to officially start the 2019-20 season that would end in a bubble. On game night, the Clippers, like on the 2020 opening night, defeated the team they share their stadium with.

While the final scorecard read 112-102, LeBron James remained two assists shy of a triple-double. He scored 18 points in the game, gathered 10 rebounds and registered eight assists.

#3 Versus the Boston Celtics (October 17, 2017)

LeBron James in a game against the Boston Celtics

LeBron James started his last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers by playing against the Boston Celtics on October 17, 2017. Coming off a humiliating NBA Finals defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors led by Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, James was hungry for blood and put up arguably the best performance amongst the matches on this list.

The Celtics roster boasted rookie Jayson Tatum, unstoppable Kyrie Irving and sophomore Jaylen Brown. The three of them combined for 61 points out of their team's total of 99. While Irving was the best player on his team with 22 points, 10 assists and four rebounds, Brown was the highest scorer with 25 points.

But LeBron James, while meeting Kyrie, who had left Cleveland for Boston, wasn't going to let his ex-teammate outperform him. He went ahead and did what he does best, completely overwhelming the opponents. On the night of October 17th, King James exploded for 29 points, snatched 16 rebounds and recorded nine assists in 41 minutes to help his team win the opening night game.

#4 Versus the New York Knicks (October 25, 2016)

The New York Knicks, comprised of players like Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick Rose, clashed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 25, 2016.

But LeBron James and Co. were too much for the Knicks in this opening night's game. The Cavs beat New York by a 29 point difference. Which means that even if Kyrie Irving had not scored a single point in the match, he scored 29, Cleveland would have still drawn the game.

Although Irving was the highest point scorer of the whole game, LeBron James registered a triple-double by scoring 19 points, and registering 14 assists and 11 rebounds. His performance was detrimental to the Knicks.

#5 Versus the Chicago Bulls (October 27, 2015)

Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

The oldest opening night game on this list saw LeBron James and the Cavs go up against the Chicago Bulls for the season opener in 2015. Although the Bulls won the game 97-95, King james registered the most points.

By posting 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, LeBron not only guided his team to a victory over Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose-led team but also added another triple-double to his career stats to start a long campaign that would end in a championship win.