One of the indelible images of the Lakers season came only a few days after LeBron James suffered the groin injury that would keep him out for a career-long 17 games.
The image was one of LeBron James in street clothes, flanked by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. And now with the gift of hindsight, that symbolism wasn’t just for the masses online.
The Athletic’s Bill Oram published a monstrous report on where the Lakers season went wrong and one of the key moments he illustrated was that the Lakers felt James was distancing himself from them.
It was during this time that James became less present around the team. The Lakers struggled without him, naturally, but James was not really around. His injury did not allow him to travel, and he would arrive at home games moments before tip-off. Once with a glass of red wine in hand.
This was when, according to some in the locker room, players started to look at James a bit differently.
According to Oram, the dynamic between James and his teammates became more strained because veteran Rajon Rondo literally baked cookies for his teammates while he nursed his broken hand.
Obviously, James had a completely different injury and it was the most severe one he’s ever had in his career. So, it’s not as if anyone is saying LeBron needs to take baking lessons, but the sequence of events didn’t do much to help the Lakers chemistry issues.
Also, it’s evident that LeBron also had some opportunities to be closer to the team when they were around, but he didn’t. With the Anthony Davis trade demand happening soon after, it’s no wonder the season went the way it did.
