The New York Knicks made it five wins in a row by blowing out the Portland Trail Blazers 127-97 at Madison Square Garden on Friday. The Knicks are suddenly on a roll, and standing between them and a sixth straight win are the Los Angeles Lakers.
This upcoming clash on Sunday will see Knicks head coach Mike Brown face off against LeBron James, whom he once coached on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he was full of praise for the Lakers superstar in his postgame press conference.
“If he’s not the smartest guy that I’ve been around in terms of feel and all that stuff, he’s definitely top three,” Brown said, via New York Basketball. “Unbelievable talent, unbelievable human being. I mean, he’s done a lot in the community, he’s done a lot for the NBA, and he’s earned the right to play as long as he wants. And he’s definitely doing it.”
The 41-year-old James is now in his record 23rd season in the NBA. You’d imagine Brown wouldn’t have thought he’d still be playing today when they joined forces on the Cavaliers in 2005.
James and Brown were together on the Cavaliers for five seasons and enjoyed a fair bit of success. They won at least one playoff series every season and made it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2007. The San Antonio Spurs swept the Cavaliers in the Finals, but getting there was a great achievement in itself.
The Cavaliers would win 60+ games with James and Brown leading the way in 2008-09 and 2009-10, but failed to win the championship on both occasions. That was that for the partnership, with the superstar leaving for the Miami Heat and the coach getting fired.
James has gone on to win four NBA championships since, but Brown has yet to taste ultimate glory as a head coach. He does have four titles, but all as an assistant. Brown is looking to break his duck as the head honcho, and he has gotten the Knicks back on track. They had lost nine out of 11 games before going on this win streak that has seen them improve to 30-18.
As for James and his Lakers, they blew out the Washington Wizards 142-111 on Friday. It was their fifth victory in their last seven games, and they are now 29-18 on the season. James had 20 points (8-16 FG), three rebounds, six assists, and two steals in the win.
James is now averaging 21.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26, while shooting 50.2% from the field. This kind of production with such efficiency is ridiculous for a man at this stage of his career.
James doesn’t dominate games as consistently as he once did, but we get some vintage performances from time to time. With how much the 21-time All-Star loves playing at Madison Square Garden, perhaps we’ll get one on Sunday.
Over the course of his career, James has averaged 28.8 points per game at MSG. He has a 23-8 record there, and those 23 wins are his most in any arena as a visiting player. The Lakers will need another strong showing from James if they are to take down these Knicks.
