LeBron James made his season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers at home against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 18, marking the beginning of his 23rd season, becoming the first player in NBA his to do so.
His return came with L.A. holding a 10-4 record, which exceeded all expectations due to the injuries that followed behind James. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have missed games, yet the Lakers came out of their first stretch as one of the top teams in the West.
Now that the team is finally whole, hopefully they can keep this positive momentum and James wants to play a role in that. Should L.A. keep pace, perhaps they can maneuver their way to contention talk and adding an all-time leading scorer should do nothing but help them get there.
However, the 40-year-old star is making sure not to get ahead of himself and what lies down the road. When asked about his biggest challenge in his 23rd season, LeBron says it is just staying in the moment.
“My biggest challenge this season? I don’t know.” James said. “Just staying in the moment. Just staying in the moment, obviously. Where I’m at in my career and where I’m at in year 23, and understanding that there’s not many more games for me. I don’t know when that is, but just staying in the moment. Just appreciating the opportunity to go home and play the game I love to play in. We’re around a great group. Speaking of in that same vein, this is year 23.”
For the four-time champion, the focus is on the present and not what the future holds beyond this season. Because there are few opportunities left to win a fifth championship before he retires and no moment should be taken for granted, it is good to see that he has that perspective.
With Doncic solidifying himself as a leader for the Lakers, Reaves following suit and role players making impacts, head coach JJ Redick may have a special group on his hands. But, this roster is far from perfect and it is up to the front office to make necessary moves to improve their chances of winning a title.
As James noted, the team needs to stay in the moment, do their job and presumably the front office will do theirs.
Luka Doncic discusses how LeBron James can help with Lakers’ transition offense
Up to this point, the Lakers have been a slow-paced team and that tends to be the case with a Luka Doncic-led squad. Although, Doncic discussed how LeBron James can help L.A.’s transition offense to hopefully pick up the pace.
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