LeBron James made NBA history on Tuesday night, taking the court to officially begin his 23rd season. James had missed the first 14 games of Los Angeles’s season due to sciatica and was quiet points-wise in his debut against the Jazz but made his presence felt offensively. The King totaled 12 assists in his first game since the Lakers were eliminated in the playoffs last April. The Lakers proved victorious on the night but that wasn’t the biggest takeaway of the evening.
How, exactly, James would fit into the offense was a bit of a question while he was sidelined. This offseason Los Angeles made it a point to go out and acquire players who would fit well next to Luka Dončić. Which makes sense given Dončić is one of the best players in the NBA and the Lakers were unable to build a roster for him last year since they acquired him midseason. But it’s notable because, for the first time since James joined the franchise, the roster was not molded around his talents alone.
Nobody truly doubted LeBron would be able to succeed with this year’s Lakers squad but trying to project his role on the court was a murkier exercise than it’s been in a very long time. For basically his entire career everything orbited around James; now everything orbits around James and Dončić. It’s an unfamiliar reality for those watching and presumably for James himself, too. What kind of form would The King take to best accentuate his newest superstar teammate while still making his presence felt?
Tuesday night showed a glimpse of that. To put it simply, James is there to make everybody’s lives a little bit easier. His 12 assists show the connectivity he can bring to an offense that occasionally grew stagnant while Dončić and Austin Reaves dribbled the air out of the ball. Since he’s no longer the default option to run the offense every trip down the court James can leverage his historic basketball IQ to create opportunities for his teammates and his impressive vision to help ensure they take advantage of said opportunities. As a result Los Angeles moved the ball more and finished the game with 31 assists, a few ticks above the team’s season average.
James will likely continue to play this role while everybody is healthy. So, to that end, which Lakers players specifically benefitted most from James’s return to the court?
Luka Dončić
Dončić finished with 37 points last night so anybody who wondered if his counting stats might be adversely affected by James’s return can rest easy. The Slovenian superstar remains one of the NBA’s most dangerous scorers and will get his touches no matter who else is playing with him. He took 22 shots and attempted 16 free throws while posting a 40% usage rating, notably higher than his season average of 36.4%. Dončić did all that without enjoying better shot quality with James on the floor, too. He took 11 “open” shots against Utah, per the NBA’s tracking data, but averages 11.2 on the season.
All that leads to the conclusion that James’s presence didn’t really change much for Dončić. He still had the ball in his hands constantly, took contested shots, regularly drove into the lane to draw fouls, and was involved often enough otherwise to rack up 10 assists. So how did he really benefit from James’s presence?
It’s actually quite simple. Dončić only had to play 34 minutes and 14 seconds to beat the Jazz. It was the fewest minutes he’d played in a win all season long. Even after Tuesday night Dončić ranks fourth in the NBA in minutes per game at 36.8. While concerns about the star's conditioning have proven overblown to begin the year it’s still not ideal for the Lakers to have to lean on him so heavily minutes-wise, and especially not ideal this early in the season. Looking around the league at all the stars dealing with injuries right now, Los Angeles should be very invested in ensuring Dončić’s minutes are kept in check—and that’s before taking his own injury history into account.
James’s involvement in the Lakers’ offense obviously will not change much as far as Dončić putting up crazy numbers. But his overall impact makes L.A. a better team, which means not every win will come down to Dončić, which in theory means they can give him longer bench stints and generally decrease wear-and-tear as the season progresses. It’s an intangible but important development for the Lakers to take advantage of.
Jake LaRavia
For all the talk above about how this Lakers’ roster is curated for Dončić more than James, LaRavia is the sort of archetype both players love. Signed in free agency over the summer LaRavia is a three-and-D wing who was brought to Los Angeles to fight defensively and hit his open shots when the moment calls for it. His season statistics suggest he’s sticking to that blueprint: LaRavia is averaging 10.8 points and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 34% from three on 3.3 attempts per game.
Against the Jazz LaRavia enjoyed one of his better nights of the season so far. He scored 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting and 2-for-5 from deep. He showed earlier this year he could catch fire once in a blue moon but Tuesday night’s showing can be largely chalked up to LeBron. LaRavia scored 50% of his points off assists from James, sinking two threes and one inside the arc thanks to dishes from his star teammate.
The secret for how to play with James has long been out for players of LaRavia’s skillset. Hang out in the corner, shoot the wide-open three-pointers James generates, and be ready to take advantage of the chaos James creates in general. Last night suggests LaRavia can follow in the footsteps of players who came before like Shane Battier, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, or Iman Shumpert to capitalize on the opportunities that come with sharing the court with LeBron.
Deandre Ayton
Based on how the Lakers lost in the postseason to the Timberwolves last spring, Ayton is one of the most important players on the roster. He is the only center capable of attacking the boards at an elite level while still positively impacting the offense. He does not do it every night, and sometimes he’ll go long stretches without doing either, which is why the Trail Blazers were happy to waive him outright with one year remaining on his max contract. But when Ayton is playing up to his potential he is exactly what the Lakers need—an interior presence with size who will clean up the shortcomings of his teammates on both ends.
Playing with James has revitalized many an NBA career, so how Ayton played alongside The King was worth watching on Tuesday night. And it went pretty well! James assisted Ayton on four of his 10 made baskets. The center finished two in the paint, one in the short midrange, and one in the long midrange—the three areas of the court Ayton likes to maximize.
Running pick-and-roll with LeBron has long been a treat for NBA centers. James is such a good passer and manipulator of the court that, when he passes the center the ball, they often have a wide-open shot waiting for them. It’s the same with Dončić and why Ayton was so happy to sign with Los Angeles over the offseason. The first look at his fit with James is a positive sign that Ayton understands the opportunity he has, not only to show off his own game but to impact winning as well.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Season Debut: Which Lakers Players Benefitted Most From Superstar’s Return?.
