Staples faithful looks at the King James version

We’re so lucky here to have the chance to go to Staples Center and watch the greatest player in the NBA.

Maybe winning is the most important thing for some folks, or teamwork as John Wooden and Phil Jackson insist, but there’s nothing more entertaining than individual greatness on display.

It’s what makes the Olympics so attractive, and what made Manny Ramirez so compelling last year.

A great basketball player is even more spectacular, the athleticism on display so much closer and impressive to the eye, and so here we were at Staples Center on Monday night, blessed to be with the very best of them all.

Kobe Bryant’s not bad, I guess, but old hat. LeBron James, now here’s the King, his commercials as good as his captivating game, making him that rare combination of Bryant and Nicholson. Top that.

If you were in Staples Center on Monday night tell me you ever dared allow your eyes to leave James when he had the ball. OK, I’ll grant you it might’ve been a better test had Salma Hayek been sitting in the court-side seats instead of Don Rickles.

James dropped a three early, then gave everyone a whirly-bird pirouette for two. Just incredible. Bryant has done it so often, there’s no longer any degree of difficulty.

By the end of the first quarter the folks at Staples were so appreciative, they were chanting, “MVP.” I thought it odd they waited until Bryant was shooting free throws, because that can be so distracting, but that’s the kind of excitement James brings to the game.

Later, some Lakers fans were chanting “overrated,” which is a little harsh when you consider Bryant hurt his ring finger. It’s not the first time that ring finger has resulted in pain, and he seems to recover well.

The King, meanwhile, was just gliding up and down the court. His team wasn’t anywhere near as deep as the Lakers, and was missing two starters -- the Lakers’ teamwork winning the day and good for Wooden and Jackson.

But what made this special was everyone on the Lakers running around like they really cared while trying to keep up with the King, the officials allowing the hometown team to treat him like they would a Cleveland Browns running back.

Hard to believe the NBA would assign three horrible referees to such a marquee matchup, but this isn’t the first time officiating has come under question in this league.

The Lakers had Bryant on James, and the Cavaliers had a one-point halftime lead. The Lakers’ Trevor Ariza is supposed to be a great defender, but TNT’s Craig Sager told the story about James dropping 52 on Ariza in a high school game. As little as the Lakers had Ariza on James, I wonder whether Sager got the story from Jackson.

As for memorable plays, James’ driving stuff in the closing moments of the third quarter had everyone in the place buzzing. Great stuff.

But then the Lakers took over, Bryant doing the same old thing he always does, like that’s anything new.

THE NIGHT ends here with James, as good as it gets, along with two of the league’s best teams.

The day begins here, though, with the Clippers, the Big Disappointment that is Baron Davis and the nagging question: Is BD dogging it?

The Big Disappointment hasn’t played since Dec. 31 because of a sore knee and butt although he has no problem sitting on the bench as a spectator, or running out of the arena after being told Page 2 wanted to speak with him.

Never got the chance to ask BD what he has to say to those who believe he’s healthy, but opting not to play with the scrubs the Clippers have been forced to employ recently.

There’s some suspicion here that BD will be healthy again as soon as Zach Randolph declares himself ready to play. What if Randolph is dogging it, too?

Coach Mike Dunleavy said Davis is trying to get healthy. Dunleavy is also the same guy who recently said some agents might influence their players not to hurry back from injuries, which doesn’t speak well of his players’ character.

Dunleavy later said he wasn’t speaking about any of his players, and apparently just likes to wax philosophical in between losses.

The team’s trainer, Jasen Powell, never mentioned any problem with Davis’ knee, but said Davis “bruised [his tailbone] pretty hard. And that can lead to other things in the pelvic region, so we want to make sure all our I’s are dotted and Ts crossed.”

Sounds like some kind of experimental treatment, but the trainer went on to say Davis still needs some conditioning work and practice before returning.

At least he didn’t mention Jenny Craig.

Dunleavy isn’t making a big fuss right now because he still hopes to make a case that he knows what he’s doing as GM/coach.

He believes once Davis, Randolph, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby return, the Clippers will impress folks and maybe even win 20 games this season.

IN HONOR of the Arizona Cardinals, and things I never thought would happen, I urge everyone to check out Lisa Guerrero’s latest Fabulous Forum entry at latimes.com.

As a tease, and I’m only referring to her entry, she notes that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt showed up late recently for the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation dinner and left in the middle of Dave Winfield’s speech.

According to Guerrero, “the combined year of Major League Baseball service of the legends that McCourt skipped out on are 152 and they have won a total of six World Series championships. McCourt’s years in the MLB: five. Number of championships: zero.”

I can’t believe how tough some writers can be.

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t.j.simers@latimes.com