LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points combined in the regular season and playoffs while scoring 34 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a win over the Pelicans. Dave DuFour and Zena Keita discuss LeBron’s Western Conference Player of the Month award, his All-NBA team chances, and the Phoenix Suns crazy comeback over the Clippers. Then, the Athletic’s Christian Clark joins the show to discuss Kyrie Irving’s ACL tear, whether Anthony Davis will return, and where the Dallas Mavericks go from here.Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita & Christian ClarkExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio Producer: Grayson MoodyRead Christian’s story here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6174993/2025/03/04/mavericks-kyrie-irving-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-nico-harrison/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Full Episode
Good morning. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, bad news for the Mavs and Kyrie Irving. So we got Christian Clark on at the end of the show to talk about it. The Lakers get another win and LeBron is the Western Conference Player of the Month. So we're going to dig into that a little bit. And then the Suns were pathetic until they weren't. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
Good morning, Dave. Another show. We had a couple good games last night. But, unfortunately, got a little bit of news and update on Kyrie Irving. He's going to miss the rest of the season and likely a large portion of next year. Got a torn ACL. You know, he injured the leg on Monday night. Going up for a layup. You know, just something that, again, he's probably done 10 million times in his life.
Freak occurrence. So yeah, Zena, he's going to be out for the year. The Mavs just completely snakebitten.
The list of everything that's happened to the Dallas Mavericks, particularly since Luka Doncic was traded, is... is surreal. Like it really feels as if the plague has descended upon them. And this is just another notch in that, but it's probably the biggest one.
When you think about Kyrie Irving in the story of what this was supposed to be, of course, Luke is at the center, but Kyrie was that next big chapter. And then you add in Klay Thompson and, And now all that's left is Clay.
And there's something eerie about that when you think about what Clay Thompson went through towards the end of his time with the Warriors with his ACL tear and him being sidelined for a year. And now you've got Kyrie Irving also not being able to carry the torch on after Luka in Dallas. But it's heartbreaking overall for the story of the Dallas Mavericks. But I think...
if anything, heartbreaking for Kyrie, watching him take those last two free throws, thanking God. And I believe he's going through Ramadan right now as well. So he might also be fasting. I mean, there was something spiritual in that moment from him thanking God in the most vulnerable period of his injury. It was just surreal. I just hope he gets better soon.
The Mavericks, I really thought the Luka trade didn't end their season. It just, I think, stunted their future. Kyrie's injury, that's a wrap. Not a wrap. LeBron James. His career, I think it has no end in sight.
He was named Western Conference Player of the Month yesterday, and he also, in the game and the win against the Pelicans, became the first NBA player to score 50,000 points combined regular season and postseason. I mean, that's a number that's likely never going to be touched again, just when you consider the longevity of his career, 22 years. He also poured in.
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