LeBron James was at his playmaking best against the Indiana Pacers, recording 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in their 105-102 loss on the road.
Channeling his inner Magic Johson, James had the crowd oohing and ahhing with a series of flashy dimes, bringing Showtime to Indiana.
After today's game, James now has 8,959 career assists, needing just eight more to pass Gary Payton (8,966) for ninth on the all-time list.
Averaging a league-best 10.6 assists per game this season, James will likely achieve the feat in Friday's marquee matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.
After putting on a show against the Pacers, we rank his best dimes from today's game.
1. Behind the head to Dwight
The clear #1 from today's game came late in the first quarter, with James flipping the ball behind his head to Dwight Howard for a wide-open jam.
James attacks the paint at speed off the Alex Caruso pass, before attracting the attention of Myles Turner and Juston Holiday, before finding Howard with the slick dime.
The degree of difficulty to control his body after he's left his feet and slow down to get the pass off is something else.
2. Behind-the-back to McGee
Midway through the first quarter, James found JaVale McGee for with an awesome behind-the-back dime.
James takes the ball straight at Malcolm Brogdon, forcing Domantas Sabonis to step up and help, leaving McGee with space at the rim.
Once Sabonis has made his move, James threads the needle in traffic behind his back to the big man for the reverse layup.
Again it's James' ability to suck in the help defender and have the awareness to read the play as it's unfolding. He makes it look easy in slow-motion.
3. Behind-the-back to Avery Bradley
In the second quarter, James powered his way into the lane, before losing control of the ball.
Once he regathers posession, he makes the heads-up play and splits the defence with yet another behind-the-back special, finding Avery Bradley for the easy floater.
James has always been a cerebral playmaker, but today in Indiana, he put his creativity to work, creating highlight after highlight for the Lakers.
The views expressed here do not represent those of the NBA or its clubs.
