LeBron James and the LA Lakers have advanced to the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Finals after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans. James had another stellar performance, scoring 30 points on 75.0% shooting from the field. He also reflected on the Lakers' current form ahead of their showdown against the Indiana Pacers.

The Lakers played well in the first quarter, but the Pelicans had the lead entering the second. "The King" took over before half-time to give the Lakers a double-digit advantage at the break. They didn't take their foot off the pedal in the second half to get the easy 133-89 victory.

James downplayed the team's win after the game since it's only December. He was also asked about what he's learned from the Lakers' run in the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament and had a hilarious response:

"The funky courts don't bother us," James said.

Some NBA fans were not fans of the In-Season Tournament courts because of their colors and design. A few were decent, but most of the courts were hilariously trolled on social media.

But on a more serious note, LeBron James acknowledged that they have been successful in tournament-like competitions since 2020. They won the NBA championship inside the bubble and are 2-0 in the NBA play-in tournament:

"We've been successful with the first two," James said. "Where our rank, it's the bubble, obviously, we won a championship. We also had an opportunity to play in play-in games. ... We won both to give us a nod into the postseason, you know? This has been good so far as well to us too, so we got to finish our breakfast on Saturday. That's the most important thing."

LeBron James continues to defy Father Time

LeBron James has been the most important player for the LA Lakers this season even though he's on Year 21. James averages 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.5 steals as the oldest player in the league.

"The King" has been very efficient, shooting 55.3% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc. He's also been durable this season, missing only one game so far. He's been injury-prone since joining the Lakers, but has stayed away from injuries in the first 22 games this season.

Another amazing fact about the four-time NBA champion is he'll be turning 39 years old later this month. He refuses to be slowed down by Father Time, which is a hard thing to do in any sport.