Mark Daigneault on coaching against 41-year-old LeBron James

No one, other than perhaps the man himself, knows what the future holds for LeBron James when it comes to his basketball career. His record 23rd NBA season ended with a whimper on Monday when the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals 115-110 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, resulting in them getting swept out of the playoffs.

James may not have completely played up to his usual standards during this series. But he did average a solid 23.3 points on 50% overall shooting and 36.4% from 3-point range, six rebounds and 5.8 assists a game, and he did help the Lakers stay competitive for stretches of all four games.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised the level at which James played at while saying it helped his team develop.

“Just the fact that he's playing at this stage of his career is remarkable,” Daigneault said. “The level he's able to get to at this stage is unbelievable. He is a guy that, similar to what I said about the team collectively, if you make a mistake on him, he's going to make you pay for it. It actually helps you improve — you're a better team. He's developing your team because any crack, he's going to find it.

“... Even just the first five minutes of Game 1 was a great model for how you start a series. So I just have the deepest respect for him.”

James probably could've done more individually, but he still had an outstanding season for a 41-year-old. During the regular season, he put up 20.9 points on 51.5% overall shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game while adjusting to his new role as the Lakers' third scoring option when the team was healthy. Of course, Luka Doncic suffered a hamstring strain on April 2 and didn't play afterward, forcing James to go back to being L.A.'s primary scoring option, something he did seamlessly.