LeBron's 19th postseason
LeBron James is entering his 19th NBA postseason — a mark that ties him with Karl Malone and John Stockton — and the Lakers begin Game 1 against the Rockets Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. (x.com) The Play‑In also kept things volatile this week, with teams like Golden State and Philadelphia advancing via single‑game elimination wins. ( )
LeBron James will start his 19th NBA postseason on Saturday, tying Karl Malone and John Stockton for the most playoff appearances in league history. (nba.com) The Los Angeles Lakers open their first-round series against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, April 18, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. Game 2 is set for Tuesday, April 21, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. (nba.com) James enters the playoffs with 292 postseason games, the most in NBA history, and he can reach 300 if the Lakers win this series in at least six games. He also leads all players with 8,289 playoff points and 12,062 playoff minutes. (nba.com) This postseason opens after a week of Play-In games that kept the bracket moving until Friday night. The National Basketball Association’s Play-In format sends teams that finish seventh through 10th in each conference into single-game matchups for the final two playoff seeds. (nba.com) In the West, Portland beat Phoenix 114-110 on April 14 to claim the No. 7 seed, and Golden State beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 on April 15 to stay alive for the No. 8 game on Friday. In the East, Philadelphia beat Orlando 109-97 on April 15 to lock up the No. 7 seed, while Charlotte’s 127-126 overtime win over Miami eliminated the Heat and sent the Hornets into the final Play-In game. (nba.com) The Lakers did not arrive here with a clean runway. NBA.com’s series preview said Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves each missed the final five regular-season games after injuries on April 1, and their status for the first round was still unknown when the preview was published. (nba.com) Houston closed the regular season on an eight-game winning streak to secure the No. 5 seed, and the Rockets had a top-five defense for the second straight year, according to NBA.com’s preview. The Lakers won two of the three regular-season meetings, including March wins in Houston by scores of 100-92 and 124-116. (nba.com) James has been in the playoffs often enough that his 19 appearances now exceed the entire franchise totals of six teams: Orlando with 18, Memphis with 14, Minnesota with 14, Toronto with 14, Charlotte with 10, and New Orleans with nine. Saturday adds another first-round opener to a postseason résumé that already spans 23 years from his 2003 draft to April 2026. (nba.com; basketball-reference.com)
