Dave McMenamin May 13, 2026, 07:00 AM ET Close Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09. WITH ICE BAGS wrapped around both knees and slide sandals on his feet, LeBron James made a right turn out of the Los Angeles Lakers ' locker room and beelined to the exit at Crypto.com Arena. It was March 31, and the Lakers had just completed arguably their most impressive win of the season with a 127-113 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers . The victory avenged a 30-point loss to the Cavs on Jan. 28 and capped a 32-day stretch in which L.A. went 16-2 to surge up the Western Conference standings. The win was the 1,229th of James' career and moved him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most victories by any player in NBA history (combined regular season and playoffs). Not to mention, it came on a night when Luka Doncic topped 15,000 career points and Rui Hachimura reached 5,000.…