The Night LeBron Looked Human: Why the Streak Died and Why the Lakers Shouldn’t Care
December 5, 2025
Let’s get it out of the way: the shock wasn’t that LeBron missed shots. It’s that LeBron James under 10points was a real, official, box-score verified event. After 1,297 straight games of effortless double digits, basketball’s ironman finally hit a wall. And the reaction? Predictably dramatic.
Some fans called it the beginning of the end. Others acted like a basketball apocalypse. But here’s the wild part — it didn’t matter. Not to the Lakers. Not to the flow of the game. And definitely not to LeBron, who looked more irritated by his shot diet than the streak itself.
The NBA has built an entire mythology around LeBron never slipping, never aging, never scoring in single digits. So yes, the internet panicked. But the Lakers? They played on.
The Supporting Cast Saved the Night — And Maybe Revealed the Future
This game wasn’t about LeBron’s decline. It was about everyone else stepping into a space he usually fills without thinking. Without Luka Dončić to lean on, the Lakers were forced to audition their depth — and surprisingly, it worked.
Here’s how the real stars of the night carried the load:
| Player | What They Proved | Key Moment |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Reaves | Can be a top-option scorer in emergencies | Scored off-balance from 27 feet as Toronto closed in |
| Rui Hachimura | Capable of punishing late rotations | Hit the game-winning corner three |
| Deandre Ayton | Reliable when given simple, direct roles | Controlled two crucial late rebounds |
| Jake LaRavia | More than a placeholder shooter | Cut through Toronto’s zone for a momentum layup |
| LeBron James | Still the team’s smartest decision-maker | Passed up the streak to secure the win |
If this game revealed anything, it’s that the Lakers don’t need LeBron to be the 2013 version of himself every night. In fact, relying on that expectation is probably why the discourse around this team has been so chaotic.
The Final Possession Was Peak LeBron — The Streak Be Damned
This is where the conversation gets spicy. People love to accuse LeBron of stat-chasing. They love to pretend that legacy moments matter more to him than winning. Well, if that’s true, he would’ve forced an ugly runner just to get to double digits.
Instead? He delivered the most LeBron response imaginable: make the right basketball play, streak optional.
He drove. He read the rotation. He saw Rui sitting in the corner practically begging for daylight. And he fired the pass that buried the Raptors. Game over. Streak over. Narrative reborn.
Hot take:
LeBron ending his 18-year scoring streak with a pass — not a shot — should be the ultimate rebuttal to every “he only cares about stats” argument ever made.
It was poetic, inconvenient for hot-take culture, and perfectly on brand for who he is as a player.
Why LeBron James Under 10points Doesn’t Spell Doom — But It Sends a Message
Let’s be honest. The Raptors didn’t unlock the secret to stopping him. They didn’t expose some hidden weakness. They simply executed a disciplined defensive wall and caught LeBron on a night when his body didn’t cooperate.
Here’s what contributed:
• A 4–17 shooting night that felt flatter than his early-season rhythm
• Zero free throws, which is a flashing neon sign of reduced explosiveness
• Toronto forcing possessions into clogged mid-range pockets
• Lingering nerve irritation disrupting his first step and lift
• A role shift where scoring isn’t required every possession
Yes, this was the lowest-version-of-LeBron we’ve seen in years. But here’s the hot take: that’s exactly why this game was encouraging. For the first time in a long time, the Lakers won a tight battle without needing LeBron to bail them out.
If anything, the message is clear:
Los Angeles can win ugly.
They can win imperfect.
And they can win even when LeBron looks mortal.
That’s not decline — that’s sustainability.
Conclusion: The Streak Is Gone, but the Lakers’ Identity Finally Appears – LeBron James under 10points
The headline — LeBron James under 10points — will dominate conversations for weeks, but the real takeaway is far more interesting. The Lakers didn’t crumble. They didn’t fold. They didn’t even look panicked. They leaned on depth, adjusted on the fly, and let LeBron choose the play that won the game rather than the shot that saved a streak.
If this is what the post-prime chapter looks like, the Lakers should embrace it. Because the streak may be over, but the structure — the identity, the trust, the tactical logic — all finally feel like they’re in place.
And that, ironically, might matter more than whatever number appears next to LeBron’s name.