LeBron James became the first player to take part in 23 consecutive NBA seasons when he stepped onto the court for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old, who missed his side’s opening 14 games of the season because of sciatica, contributed 11 points, 12 assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes of a 140-126 home win over the Utah Jazz.

James – the NBA’s record scorer – overtook Vince Carter’s mark of having played in 22 successive NBA seasons, while his two three-pointers also moved him above Reggie Miller into sixth place in the NBA’s all-time list of most three-pointers made.

“It’s been a long time since he played basketball, so I think for the first game back, he looked amazing,” said Lakers team-mate Luka Doncic.

“He’s going to keep getting his rhythm, and help us a lot.”

Doncic had a game high 37 points and four steals in the win against the Jazz as he also contributed 10 assists and five rebounds.

Austin Reaves scored 26 points for the Lakers, while Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen scored 34 and 31 points respectively for Utah.

The win puts the Lakers fourth in the Western Conference, with the Jazz in 10th place.

Winner of the 2023 CAF Men’s Player of The Year Award, Victor Osimhen, returns to the podium of the prestigious award on Wednesday night in Rabat, facing a stiff competition from Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and PSG.

The 2025 award will be handed out at a ceremony in Rabat, Morocco, today with Super Falcons captain, Rasheedat Ajibade also in the running for the Women’s Player of The Year Award, while goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie is primed for her third consecutive honour.

The ceremony honours the continent’s top performers for the period from January 6 to October 15, 2025.

In the men’s category, Osimhen, Salah and Hakimi were announced as the finalists from an initial 10-player shortlist on Sunday.

Winner in 2023, Osimhen’s credentials for this year’s honour are his goals for club and country in the period under review. The Galatasaray striker scored 37 goals and six assists in 41 appearances in the 2024/25 season, helping the club win a domestic double in the process.

Salah helped Liverpool to the Premier League title in the 2024/25 season with 29 goals and 18 assists in 38 starts in the competition.

Right-back Hakimi was outstanding as PSG lifted the UEFA Champions League title and also won the French Ligue 1, Coupe de France and UEFA Super Cup, along with reaching the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.

In the women’s category, Nigeria’s Ajibade, who switched from Atletico Madrid Women to PSG and led the Super Falcons to 10th WAFCON title, joins Morocco’s Ghizlaine Chebbak of Al Hilal and Sanaa Mssoudy of AS FAR as the top three finalists.

Super Falcons goalkeeper, Nnadozie, will hope to win a third consecutive women’s best keeper award as she goes up against Morocco’s Khadija Er-Rmichi and South Africa’s Andile Dlamini in the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year category.

Her nomination comes after a season of consistent displays between the posts for both her previous club Paris FC and the Super Falcons.

Before moving to Brighton during the summer, she inspired Paris FC to their first title in about 20 years.

Nigeria has had a heavy presence in the awards in the last two editions as there could be five awards up for grabs for the country.

The Super Falcons are in the Women’s National Team of The Year category along with Ghana and Morocco.

Flamingos captain, Shakirat Moshood, who plays for Bayelsa Queens, earned a place in the Women’s Young Player of the Year shortlist alongside Morocco’s Doha El Madani and Senegal’s Adji Ndiaye.

CAF emphasised her rapid development and impact in domestic and continental competitions as factors behind her inclusion.

She led the Prosperity Girls to the final of the WAFU B Zonal Champions League as the club missed out on penalty shootout to ASEC Mimosas but she won the highest goal scorer before captaining the Flamingos to the second round of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The Director-General of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Philip Shaibu has charged Nigeria’s Super Eagles to shift their focus to the upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) after missing out on the world cup qualification.

The team lost 3-4 on penalties to the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following a one-all draw after regulation time on Sunday.

The result meant Nigeria will not progress to the intercontinental stage of the World Cup playoffs, hence will not be at the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by U.

In a statement by Ben Ogbemudia, the Special Assistant on Media to the D-G, Shiabu described the loss as painful, while appealing to Nigerians not to relent in their support for the team.

“Missing out again from the world cup is very painful.

“The boys put on a strong performance but they lost gallantly. I knew they also wanted to go to the World Cup but it was not meant to be.

“I want to charge the boys to shift their focus to the upcoming AFCON and use the continental tournament to appease Nigerians, fans and supporters by winning their fourth title in Morocco next month.

“Also, I want to appeal to Nigerians to continue with their support for the national team at all times.

“ It’s an understatement to say that we are all pained by the loss but I want to ask Nigerians that we should move on and put this defeat behind us,” he said.

The 35th edition of the AFCON is scheduled for Dec. 21 to Jan. 18, 2026.