Remember how you celebrated the sound of the buzzer by sticking out your arms, screaming from your gut, running across the floor, leaping into chests.
Remember how the Staples Center crowd accompanied every light step with a roar of appreciation and admiration and … hope?
Remember your unvarnished, sweaty glee in leading your hand-picked All-Star team to a 148-145 victory over Stephen Curry’s team on a chill Sunday night on Figueroa Street.
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LeBron James, this is how it feels to win in Los Angeles. This is how it feels to be a star among stars. This is what happens when Hollywood embraces a superhero.
This could be you, not just on a Sunday night in the NBA All-Star game, but for entire winters in a Lakers uniform, for the final years of a career in which you are still the best player on the court, every court, every night.
The Lakers are going to have the salary cap space to bring you here as a free agent next summer, opening the doors of the entertainment capital to basketball’s greatest entertainer, raising your total game to an impossibly new level, all you have to do is say yes.
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After Sunday night, all you have to do is remember.
Remember what you announced to the crowd while standing at midcourt before the game.
You said, “Los Angeles is a great city, man.”
Remember what you said to the media after the game in which you scored 29 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists to win your third All-Star game most-valuable-player award.
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Chris Rock sits courtside at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Actors Chadwick Boseman, center, and Michael B. Jordan, left, sit courtside at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Chance the Rapper bites into a piece of pizza courtside at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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N.E.R.D perform with team mascots on the court at halftime of the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Fergie sings the National Anthem at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LeBron James laughs as he waits to receive his MVP trophy after leading Team LeBron to a 148-145 win over Team Stephen at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Comedian Tracy Morgan eats a hot dog courtside at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kevin Hart is center stage during a pregame show at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LeBron James captains Team LeBron against Team Stephen (Curry) at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Team Stephen center Karl Anthony-Towns pulls down a rebound over Team LeBron center Andre Drummond during second half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Stephen Curry struggles to dribble past the defense of Victor Oladipo during second half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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DeMar DeRozan of Team Stephen gets by Kevin Durant of Team LeBron during second half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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DeMar DeRozan leads Joel Embiid to the court after the starting lineup for Team Stephen is announed at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Team Stephen defender Draymond Green blocks the shot of Team LeBron center Al Horford during second half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Stephen Curry stays warm on the sideline during a break in the action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Jerry West chats with Bill Russel and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, left, courtside at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LeBron James knocks Joel Embiid to the floor after losing control of the ball during first half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Russell Westbrook challenges Team Stephen defender DeMar DeRozan during first half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Joel Embiid signals after hitting a three-pointer for Team Stephen in the first half at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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DeMar DeRozan is fouled by Paul George during the last minute of play at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LeBron James is awarded the MVP trophy after leading Team LeBron to a 148-145 win over Team Stephen at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Stephen Curry is trapped by Team LeBron defenders as he tries to attempt a last second shot at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LeBron James, right, and Kevin Durant celebrate a close win over Team Stephen Curry at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Russell Westbrook reacts after a kicked ball call prevented a fast break for Team LeBron at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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LeBron James yells out after hitting a three-pointer late in the second half at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Russell Westrbrook fouls Giannis Antetokounmpo as LeBron James looks on during first half action in the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Team LeBron captain LeBron James shoots over Draymond Green to tie the score late in the game at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Giannis Antetokounmpo slams the ball home for two points over Team LeBron player Paul George during second half action at the NBA All Star game at Staples Center.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, sporting a Darrell Griffith jersey, jumps over three people, including comedian Kevin Hart, during the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night at Staples Center.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. flies to the basket during the Slam Dunk Contest.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oldaipo puts on a “Black Panther” mask given to him by the star of the blockbuster movie, Chadwick Bosman, during the Slam Dunk Contest.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Pacers guard Victor Oladipo wears a “Black Panther” mask while participating in the Slam Dunk contest.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. wears his father’s Phoenix Suns uniform during the Slam Dunk Contest.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell winds up as he elevates during the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night at Staples Center.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. throws down a windmill dunk after taking a pass from his father, Larry Nance Sr., who won the first Slam Dunk contest in 1984.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is congratulated by Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. after winning the Slam Dunk Contest.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Suns guard’ Devin Booker lines up a shot during the Three-Point Shooting Contest on Saturday night at Staples Center.
(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
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Spencer Dinwiddie poses with the Skills Challenge Trophy after winning the competition on Saturday night at Staples Center.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
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Lou Williams competed in the Skills Challenge on Saturday night at Staples Center. He would lose in the first round to eventual champion Spencer Dinwiddie.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic of Team World celebrates after receiving the Rising Stars Challenge MVP Trophy from Chris Webber on Friday night at Staples Center.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Buddy Hield of Team World is defended by Jaylen Brown of Team USA during the Rising Stars Challenge.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Team World’s Bogdan Bogdanovic made seven three-pointers to finish with 26 points in the Rising Stars game.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Dennis Smith Jr., of Team USA elevates for a dunk during the Rising Stars game.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Lauri Markkanen of Team World finishes off a dunk during the Rising Stars game at Staples Center.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Team World’s Dillon Brooks is set to throw down a dunk during the Rising Stars game on Friday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Team USA forward Kyle Kuzma attempts a reverse layup against Domantas Sabonis of Team World during the Rising Stars game.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Team World forward Ben Simmons sends a pass ahead to a teammate during the Rising Stars game on Friday night at Staples Center.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Quavo, center, accepts the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game MVP Trophy on Friday evening.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
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Michael B. Jordan and Jason Williams greet each other during the Celebrity Game at Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
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Nick Cannon and Justin Bieber watch the Celebrity Game from Team Lakers bench on Friday.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
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Actor Jamie Foxx jokes around before the start of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday.
(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
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Rachel DeMita of Team Clippers attempts a shot against Stefanie Dolson of Team Lakers during the 2018 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at Los Angeles Convention Center.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
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Team Clippers’ Quavo leads a fast break against Team Lakers’ Justin Bieber during the 2018 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday at Los Angeles Convention Center.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
This quote is long, but you need to remember every syllable.
“I think L.A. is the perfect place to host All-Star weekend,” you said. “It’s one of the few cities that we have in our league that can accommodate all of this.”
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You added: “It’s built for the stars. It’s built for entertainment. It’s built for cameras and bright lights, and it’s a great place for it.”
You concluded: “I hope everybody had a great weekend. I know I did. I know my family did.”
You even excused our traffic. Seriously, our traffic. There isn’t a soul in Los Angeles who doesn’t love the place if they can excuse our traffic.
“We know the traffic, we understand that,” you said. “But L.A. can accommodate that.”
You know where’s there no gridlock here? For a potential Laker, the path to becoming a beloved legend is wide open. Kobe Bryant is gone. The last title was eight years ago. You can come here and be anything you want.
You can even earn the moniker as the greatest player ever, as evidenced by the words of public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter when he introduced Michael Jordan in the final minutes of Sunday’s game.
“One of the greatest players,” Tanter intoned.
The man generally recognized as the GOAT is suddenly only one of the greatest?
Tanter might have been saying that out of deference to the legends who were previously introduced, guys like Magic Johnson and Jerry West and Bill Russell. Or, hmm, maybe he was leaving room for you, big guy.
Tanter will announce your games if you come here. Jack Nicholson, who was sitting a few seats down from your bench, will be cheering you if you come here. The Laker Girls, who you saw performing with the Clipper Spirit on Sunday, will be dancing during your timeouts.
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Glitz and glamour and sizzle everywhere, by folks who will appreciate what you do, and how you do it.
You were the oldest player in the game at age 33, yet, right from the start Sunday, nobody played harder, and nobody cared more.
“It had a real game feel to it,” you said. “We wanted to give our beautiful fans … a show. We said we wanted to do it, and we came out and did this.”
After a horrific Kevin Hart-hosted pregame show, and a syrupy Fergie national anthem that sounded like an awful love ballad, you immediately brought it all back to real basketball with an early leaping block of a DeMar DeRozan ally-oop pass, and you never slowed.
The game fell into its usual All-Star slumber, and the mostly corporate fans were library quiet until the final five minutes, but you never seemed to stop caring.
In the second quarter, you slammed a reverse dunk on a pass from Russell Westbrook. In the third quarter, you scored on a flying, juggling layup. You hit on half of your three-point attempts, missing only five of 17 shots.
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“That’s what he does,” Joel Embiid said. “Every time he steps on the court, that’s what he’s going to do so it’s not surprising.”
You finally brought the crowd alive in the final two minutes with a three-point bomb over Embiid to tie the score, then hit a rumbling layup with 34.5 seconds left to give your team the lead for good.
Remember that ending. That’s how it sounds at Lakers games for a lot longer than two minutes.
Throughout the game, you were pounding teammates’ backs, screaming from the bench, questioning officials and inspiring like it was, you know, a real game.
It is no wonder the game ended with Team LeBron harassing Curry in the corner and, in this game of 244 shots, actually preventing a final shot.
“He’s a coach’s coach,” said Toronto coach Dwane Casey, who led Team LeBron. “In the huddle, defensively, he got the guys jacked up and juiced up as far as wanting to get a stop.”
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Remember that stop. Remember how the fans celebrated defense. Let those cheers sink in.
And, oh yeah, remember your All-Star teammate who scored 16 points and was on the court with you for every step of the triumphant finish. This guy can also be a free agent this summer. This guy also loves Los Angeles, he even grew up here.
When the momentum of Sunday’s heroics eventually propels you to join the Lakers next summer, what the heck, bring Paul George with you.
Bill Plaschke, an L.A. Times sports columnist since 1996, is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame. He has been named national Sports Columnist of the Year nine times by the Associated Press, and twice by the Society of Professional Journalists and National Headliner Awards. He is the author of six books, including a collection of his columns entitled “Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoilsports, Foul Balls and Oddballs.” Plaschke is also a panelist on the popular ESPN daily talk show, “Around the Horn.” He is in the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alumni Hall of Fame and has been named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as receiving a Pursuit of Justice Award from the California Women’s Law Center. Plaschke has appeared in a movie (“Ali”), a dramatic HBO series (“Luck”) and, in a crowning cultural moment he still does not quite understand, his name can be found in a rap song “Females Welcome” by Asher Roth.
