During a tournament game against Sweetwater High School at Rancho Buena Vista, forward Lawrence Lam (12) set a new school record for the most points scored in a game, surpassing the previous record of 35 by eight points, Dec. 14. He now also holds the school record for most career points at 1,333 as of Jan. 14, surpassing Adam Chaimowitz’s 2006 record of 1,319 by 14 points. Lam said that his performance in the Sweetwater game resulted from a combination of confidence and team execution.

“I felt like my shot was really pure that day,” Lam said. “I felt really comfortable, and my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in the right spots, so all I had to do was just trust in my teammates and they got me right.”

Lam said the rhythm of the game became clear early on, the momentum driving his good performance.

“[For] my jump shot, I felt like every time I shot it, it was going to go in,” Lam said. “After the first three shots I took, they all went in, so that built my confidence even more.”

While the scoring stands out, Lam largely credits his teammates for creating the opportunity. He says trust between his teammates has been built on years of shared experience.

“My teammates set up in the right place and gave me an open shot and let me just take it, so I credit a lot of it to my teammates,” Lam said. “We’ve been playing together since the eighth grade, so it’s a lot of team chemistry that’s built up over the years.”

While the team’s chemistry on the court stood out, the game’s historical significance also means a shift in the leaderboard.

“I knew what the previous record was because they have a board in the team room with a number,” Lam said. “In the leaderboard there’s three names, and I wanna be all three of them. It’s the top three scores—35, 33, and 33. It’s a testament to what I’ve worked for my whole life.”

Lam’s 43 points will be added to the leaderboard at the end of basketball season. Behind the accomplishment was work that began long before game day, but Lam said he focused more on the success of the team than his record-breaking goals.

“I’m more focused on winning the game, and [breaking the record] just happened as a byproduct,” Lam said. “It’s trusting in the work that I put in. Even outside of practice, I put in a lot of work, so I just have to trust my abilities because I know I can do it. My schedule is every day or six days a week. And then on Sunday I’ll have another basketball workout to keep my skills up to standard.”

Lam’s attention to his physical fitness became especially important during injury recovery.

“I injured my ankle,” Lam said. “Sophomore year summer going into my junior year, I was out for a while, and my athleticism took a hit. But after time and after being in the gym and working out, I’m back and I’m better too.”

That perseverance was rooted in Lam’s early experiences playing basketball with the encouragement of his dad. 

“Since kindergarten, I liked basketball the most because it’s fast-paced,” he said. “Other sports like soccer, baseball, and football, there’s not a lot of scoring going on, so I chose basketball because it had the most action. My dad always would push me after every game, he would always talk to me and then tell me how I could be better.”

That early support extended beyond skill development and into Lam’s mental approach to basketball.

“Although [my dad] doesn’t know much about basketball, he’s been coaching me my whole life and teaching me the mental part of the game,” Lam said. “He never played sports, but he’s really passionate about how your mind controls the stuff you do, so he’s instilled that in me and taught me how important the mind is in anything I do.”

This mental coaching influences Lam’s preparation before games.

“There’s some [reminders] on my phone I read whenever I need it,” Lam said. “It’s stuff I can work on, affirmations, and mindset. I want to engrave it in my head, so it will just come naturally because of how much I’ve exposed myself to it. I feel like [the messages] get into my subconscious, and [train] my thoughts. Sometimes I play, and I’m not being the best I can be, so I feel like if I write it down and I keep looking at it, I can already be in that mindset without having to tell myself. And, if your mental is right, you’ll be in a much better spot to succeed than if it’s not.”

Beyond high school, Lam hopes to continue playing while still keeping academics central.

“I want to be able to go play in college and maybe play D-I basketball for the experience, but in the end, I want to be able to get a good degree so I can be able to get a good job in the future,” Lam said. “But, I really love this sport. I love my team, I appreciate them for everything they do and I’m excited to keep on playing with them.”