Nov 20, 2025
3 min read
For the first time, James jumps on injuries.Where can he make an impact in LA?
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James made his debut for the 2025-26 season on Tuesday.After missing the first 14 games with a sciatica injuryIt is officially his 23rd season in the NBA.The Lakers scored a season high and defeated the Utah Jazz, leading by 11 points in the first half, taking a 140-126 victory.
However, the Lakers were in the first two rounds in the first two rounds of James, James in the second quarter at the Jazz with 15 points in the first two rounds.Overall, the Lakers beat the JAZZ by 13 points with James on the bench, with one point from James in about 30 minutes.
If the general differences are worrying, then they should not be the case.
Despite being the second starter for an NBA team last season, those involved missed James' 54 points in 2,444 minutes last season.According to NBA Stress, every minute James has appeared on the floor this season, the opposing team has ruled him out, even during the 154 minutes he has missed.Of course, last season was also his first time playing with Luka DonEsić, one of the most talented players in the game who was acquired in a shocking trade with the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic is averaging 34.6 points per game this season.In many ways, James, who both missed the season opener and didn't play in a preseason game for the first time in his career, is jumping on the bandwagon with the Lakers at 11-4 and in fourth place in the Western Conference.
All of this begs the question: Was 2024-2025 an onslaught of a season or is this the new normal for James?
All of James' selections were made to a player who was selected by a player who was on the team with that player during the Play-By-Play era (1996-97).Two previous examples were Seattle Supersonics Point Gary Payton in 2001 and Milwaukee Bucks Shooting Guard Michael Redd in 2004.Last season, the Lakers were the No. 1 seed in a crowded West before being upset by the sixth-seeded Timberwolves.In this series, Minnesota, Jacob's 204th minute, the Lakers' 36th minute, James Court won by six points.
Before 2024-25, the only teams James was on the floor with were the 2004 Cleveland Cavaliers (James' rookie season) and the 2021-22 Lakers.But the 2004 Cavaliers and 2022 Lakers were both on the floor with James.Those teams were two of the four teams that were included in the team.Failed to make the playoffs with James.In that regard, last year's Lakers stood out:
It's worth noting that James' tendencies continued on both sides of Doncic's debut last season.Before Doncic's first game against the Lakers on February 10.(also against the Jazz) The Lakers were outscored by 54 points in James' minutes and outscored their opponents by 88 when James was out.When Doncic first joined the Lakers, Los Angeles was competing for James' minutes by outscoring the opposition.66 points, and James since February 10.sidelined for the remainder of the regular season.
When James was down for the Lakers last season, the Lakers shot 48.5 percent from the field, compared to 66.9 percent for him from the floor.The Lakers also had a lower turnover rate when James was down.This makes sense to say that James was still the most efficient single player last season, scoring 24.4 points per game on 59.3 percent shooting.James added 8.2 assists per game, surpassing his career average of 7.4 for the second year in a row.
The thing that made up for the Lakers was the offensive rebounding and free throw rate.The 47 free-throw attempts in the game are a career low for James, though that's still a paltry amount to throw.And while walkers attracted half as many with floor gems, the number dropped slightly to 49.1 percent with floor gems.That's the difference between average rebounds and a bad team.
Defensively, the Lakers fumbled less often with James on the floor, but they also forced fewer turnovers.Opponents also shot 47.1 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3 with James on the floor last season, compared to 45.1 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from 3 with James off the court.
It's also worth noting that the trio of James, Doncic and Austin Reeves outscored opponents by just two points in 423 minutes on the court last season. While the trio of James/Doncic/Reeves allowed the Lakers to score 117.8 points per 100 possessions, the Lakers also scored 117.7 points per 100 possessions when those three were on the court.together. For perspective, that is 117.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, the same level of defense as the Phoenix Suns team at 27th last season. In the playoffs against the Timberwolves, the Lakers scored only 109.4 points per 100 possessions, but gave up 117.2 points per 100 possessions in the 140 minutes that James, Doncic and Reeves played together.
With all that said, there is a clear aspect to why James was able to give the man such great power.
Every second day, the Lakers dish out the most assists per day in the NBA (271.2).Even so, the Lakers entered Tuesday's game with the worst turnover percentage in the NBA.James' ability to open, cut and roll to the board or to the basket should help move the ball easily, in addition to James' ability (he had 12 assists and one turnover on Tuesday).James scored 11 points on Tuesday.With just seven shots, the fewest he has managed in a 2021 loss in November at Detroit and the fewest in a game played at least 25 minutes.
James makes a significant difference on the fast break.Last year, the Lakers outscored their opponents 866-847 on the fast break with James on the floor;with James off the floor, the Lakers were outscored 535-369 on rush blocks.
The box outscored the Jazz 15-11 on Tuesday night, and James, who led Lazon to the Jazz with an 18-point performance, delivered the 18th point and the end of the lane.
Second-year Lakers coach JJ Reddick refers to rookie Laker Marcus Smart as a "quarterback" on defense because of his awareness and ability to break plays on the ball."We'll have two quarterbacks when LeBron comes back," Redick said last weekend.James' return sends Smart to the bench, with James, Doncic, Reaves, forward Rui Hachimura and center DeAndre Ayton entering Tuesday's game ranked 20th in rushing, 27th in the NBA in fast-break points per game (12.6) while giving up 14.1 fast-break points per game.
Getting James back into the lineup is a good problem for Redick and the Lakers, who have four days off before facing Utah again on Sunday.James is a great player to have on a team, and his presence eases the workload of his star teammates and makes the game easier for his role players.
As James says, he can play with anyone.Time will tell if James can make the Lakers better, especially while he's still on the court, which wasn't always the case a season ago.
