LeBron James hit with a boost in value from the former No. 1 pick
After missing the first 14 games of the season, LeBron James returned for the 2025-26 season. The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed the superstar for his 23rd season in the league. James, who has been sidelined with a sciatica problemhas a relatively quiet game by its standards.
That didn’t stop his detractors from bashing the star. Case in point: former NBA first-round pick Kwame Brown. The former NBA center claimed that James was padding his stats by getting assists in his first game with the Lakers this season.
James was quiet in scoring against the Utah Jazz. The Lakers star had just 11 points in the game and made just seven attempts. James left the scoring burden to a rather incredible trio of Luka Doncic (37 points, 10 assists, five rebounds), Austin Reaves (26 points) and DeAndre Ayton (20 points, 14 rebounds).
Instead, James did most of the damage as a facilitator in the game. He played the role of conductor in his first game backJames recorded a record 12 assists to just one turnover. With the way Doncic, Reaves and Ayton were playing, the aging Lakers star was content to take a back seat and just separate the Jazz with his departure.
While James still has the ability to take over games when needed, it’s in the Lakers’ best interest for the star to take a back seat. The primary reason they traded Doncic was so James had another playmaker to lighten his load. Letting the star play off the ball allows James to conserve his energy for the playoffs.
2025-11-20 13:11:00
