LeBron James is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he made his mark on the franchise during his eight years with it. He consistently played at a high level during that time, even if certain aspects of his game had clearly slipped, and he delivered an NBA championship in 2020.
As we take a look at James' greatest performances as a member of the Lakers in chronological order, we go back to his first visit to the Miami Heat as a member of the Lakers on Nov. 18, 2018.
Return to South Beach
James, of course, spent four years with the Heat starting with the 2010-11 season, and during that time, they made four trips to the NBA Finals and won back-to-back championships. In his first trip back to his old stomping grounds as a member of the Purple and Gold, he delivered
his A-game.
Going into this contest, the Lakers were 9-7 and were having trouble stringing together momentum. He allowed them to get out to a 34-21 lead by scoring 19 first-quarter points on 8-of-10 shooting, and he never really let up. He had 28 points at the half, and he added 23 more afterward to finish with 51 points.
He ended up going 19-of-31 from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point range while adding eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. The Lakers won, 113-97, giving them a rare lopsided win early that season.
That 51-point performance by James ended up being his highest-scoring performance that season. In fact, it was his second-highest-scoring game as a Laker overall behind a 56-point effort versus the Golden State Warriors on March 5, 2022.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James' greatest games with the Lakers: First return to Miami
