LOS ANGELES — Someday we will look back and marvel at how LeBron James was able to do it. How at an age most men are doing circuit training and taking a closer look at cholesterol counts, James is still drawing triple teams on an NBA floor. Even in an era of athletes aging gracefully, where Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at 43 and Alexander Ovechkin is still pumping in goals at 40, what James, weeks shy of his 41st birthday, continues to do stands apart.
James officially kicked off his NBA-record 23rd season on Tuesday. He played 30 minutes in Los Angeles’s 140–126 win over Utah, racking up a double-double (11 points, 12 assists) in his first game since last April. He was sharp with his shot (4 of 7 from the field), explosive off the dribble and comfortable flipping passes in his role as the Lakers’ facilitator-in-chief.
“He played with the right spirit,” coach JJ Redick said. “Very unselfish all night.”
Said James, “It was fun to be out there with the guys.”
There was understandable interest in James’s return. How would James look? James has never missed an opening night before this season and likely never had an injury—sciatica, a nerve injury that caused shooting pains down James’s lower back and right leg—that derailed so much offseason work. “I pray you never get it,” James told reporters on Monday. “It’s not fun.”
Against Utah, there were no signs of it. After a scoreless first quarter, James found his rhythm. His first bucket came early in the second, a catch-and-shoot three over Ace Bailey. He hit another three at the end of the quarter, a 28-footer off a Luka Dončić drive. “It’s his 23rd season,” said Dončić. “It’s insane.” With Dončić (37 points) and Austin Reaves (26) hot, James embraced a passer role.
How would James fit? The Lakers offense posted middle-of-the-pack efficiency numbers in his 14-game absence. But Reaves (28.3 points per game) has been cooking and Dončić is, well, Dončić. For the first time in James’s career, he entered a season as the second option. In schemes and in the lineup. Consider: Traditionally, a team’s top star is introduced last in home introductions. Dončić, as he has all season, had that honor again on Tuesday. James was introduced first.
No issues there, either. Standing in front of his locker, James scoffed at the suggestion that he might have trouble fitting in. “I can fit in with anybody,” said James. “I don’t understand why that was even a question.” During his absence, James said he prepared for different ways he could be effective with this new group.
And he was. James wasn’t the second option on Tuesday. He was the fourth. Dončić took the lead, with 13 of his 37 points coming at the free throw line. Reaves collected 11 of his 26 from the stripe. Deandre Ayton benefitted the most from James’s return. Ayton collected 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting, with several buckets coming off nifty James passes. One, a second-quarter alley-oop, was the second Ayton caught from James. The first, Ayton reminded James after the game, came when Ayton was an eighth grader attending a James summer camp.
“I’m still able to gain a lot of eyes when I’m driving the ball or [holding] the ball,” said James. “When you have an MVP-caliber player like Luka, AR [Reaves] has jumped his game to a whole other level this year, there are only so many defenders out there, only so many eyes that can key in on so many guys.”
The Lakers are counting on it. James and Dončić are ruthlessly efficient operating out of the post, positions Redick put both in often on Tuesday. “We have two of the best passers to ever touch a basketball,” Reaves said. With Ayton flashing to the middle and Reaves, Jake LaRavia (6 of 10 from the floor) and Gabe Vincent (2 of 3 from three-point range) spacing, L.A.’s offense can be potent.
“We’re going to post those guys,” said Redick. “We like having the ball with them either in the post at the elbow. They’re good decision-makers and they’re going to generate good shots for us.”
Last summer, Redick discussed with James different ways to challenge him. Playing for the love of the game works for a while. But a Hall of Famer two decades in needs more. “His brain,” said Redick, “needs a new challenge.” They talked about using him more as a screener or off the ball. Anything to keep James’s mind humming. “He’s smart enough, he’s skilled enough, he’s got the size, athleticism, he can integrate himself,” said Redick. “It’s finding ways to challenge him.”
The Lakers will need to get stops, too. L.A. struggled with Utah’s fast-moving offense with Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen each collecting 30-plus points. James will be better defensively as his conditioning improves (“I don’t expect it to take long,” said Redick), but Dončić and Reaves are below-average defenders while Ayton is a mixed bag in the middle.
“Our biggest test,” James said, “is how we defend each night.”
On Tuesday, they did enough. Addressing reporters, James sounded relieved to be back on the floor. The absence, James said, “has been rough mentally.” Last month’s opener wasn’t just the first NBA opening night he has missed. It’s the first season opener he can recall missing since he picked up a ball. He said he felt tested “physically, emotionally and spiritually” during that stretch. He was thrilled to get back to playing. Inside the Lakers’ locker room, his teammates felt the same.
“It’s only his first game back and he played amazing,” said Dončić. “I’m excited to play some more.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inside LeBron James’s Historic Season Debut With the Lakers.
