LeBron James often expresses his affinity for Madison Square Garden, an arena he famously dubbed his “favorite playground.”
It’s a sentiment James has repeatedly backed up with epic performances there over the past 23 years.
“If I could have 82 regular-season games in the Garden, I would,” James said in 2015, “because it’s the Mecca of basketball.”
Entering Sunday night’s meeting with the Knicks in Midtown, James had averaged 28.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game over 33 career appearances at MSG.
James’ teams were 24-9 in those games.
With uncertainty surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers star’s future, it is possible Sunday night’s game will go down as the 41-year-James’ final one at the Garden.
Here’s a look back at James’ biggest MSG highlights over the years:
GARDEN DEBUT
James was a 19-year-old phenom for the Cleveland Cavaliers when he suited up at the Garden for the first time on Feb. 22, 2004.
The then-rookie provided a representative Broadway debut with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists in a Cavs win.
50-POINT MASTERCLASS
Four years later, James delivered one of his signature MSG performances.
He erupted for 50 points on 16-of-30 shooting, eight rebounds, 10 blocks and four steals in a Cleveland victory on March 5, 2008.
James drilled seven 3-pointers — including four in the final four minutes to clinch the 119-105 win.
His coach at the time? Now-Knicks head coach Mike Brown.
EVEN BETTER
But that wasn’t James’ only 50-point explosion at the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”
James one-upped himself less than a year later with 52 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists and two steals on Feb. 4, 2009 — again in a Cavaliers win.
That all-time effort made James the second visiting player with two 50-point games at the modern MSG, joining Michael Jordan. Nobody else has achieved that feat since.
Notably, James’ 52-point performance came two days after Kobe Bryant scored 61 points at the Garden, which was then an MSG record.
FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE
While a triple-double barely eluded him in both 50-point games, James would check that box less than two years later.
On Dec. 17, 2010 — his first game at the Garden after joining the Miami Heat — James scored 32 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 113-91 victory.
That performance came amid boos from Knicks fans who were upset James decided to take his talents to South Beach rather than New York.
PLAYOFF PRECISION
James’ only playoff appearances at the Garden occurred during a first-round series in 2012, which the Heat won in five games.
Games 3 and 4 were at MSG, with James averaging 29.5 points, six rebounds and 4.5 assists as the Heat and Knicks split those two meetings.
VINTAGE PERFORMANCE
When the Lakers visited the Knicks on Jan. 31, 2023, it marked James’ first game at the Garden in more than three years.
It certainly proved to be worth the wait, with a then-38-year-old James going off for 28 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in an overtime victory.
James totaled 10 points in the fourth quarter and OT to lead the Lakers to that 129-123 win.
ANOTHER ONE
And then there was last year, when James, at age 40, scored 33 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Lakers’ 128-112 win on Feb. 1.
That was James’ fourth triple-double at the Garden and his 12th game there with at least 30 points.
It made him the visiting first player with multiple 30-point triple-doubles at MSG.
