Leading into LeBron James making his season debut, there were some wondering if his return could potentially have a negative impact on some of the Los Angeles Lakers players who have been thriving in his absence. Most notably, Austin Reaves has blossomed into a true second option and has been playing at an All-Star level.
That was not an issue in their first game together this season though as James focused primarily on being a facilitator, dishing out 12 assists to go along with 11 points in his season debut, a Lakers victory over the Utah Jazz. While Reaves had just one assist, he was still the Lakers’ second leading scorer on the night with 26 points on just 11 shots.
And following the Lakers’ win over Utah, Reaves had more praise for James, feeling he looked just as good as always in his first game of the year.
“Yeah. I think he had 12 assists and one turnover. Not bad at all,” Reaves said. “It’s not as good as my [ratio] of one to four… But no, he plays the game the right way. I think he talked yesterday about trying to get his lungs back, he looked good. He was getting up and down the floor well. He’s a good player (laughs).”
LeBron has spoken about his conditioning not being where he would like just yet, but he was able to play 30 minutes and showed little signs of exhaustion. That in itself is impressive as James made history, becoming the first player ever to play 23 NBA seasons, something Reaves can’t even fathom.
“Oh yeah, I mean, if you told me to play 23 years, there’s no way even if I started when he started,” Reaves noted. “There’s absolutely no way. Just the time he spends, he’s given everything he’s got to basketball. Every day he walks in the room, he’s the happiest person to be there. He wants to be there, he’s got a smile on his face, he’s acting like he’s a 12-year-old kid just having a good time. And it’s a beautiful thing to see because it brings life to everybody in the locker room.”
James is truly a once-in-a-lifetime athlete capable of things even other great athletes can’t quite grasp. And now that he is healthy and suiting up LeBron, Reaves and Luka Doncic can begin pushing this Lakers team to even greater heights.
Lakers’ LeBron James shares how he felt physically in season debut
Before he made his season debut, LeBron James talked about his conditioning not being at the level he wants just yet and following his first game he again pointed to that as something he must improve, but was overall happy with how he played.
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