Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is entering an unprecedented place in his NBA career. The all-time great is set to become the first player to play 23 seasons in the league and has somehow maintained an outstanding level of play that saw him make the All-NBA Second Team last season.
Coming into this season, James and the Lakers are taking things slowly in terms of his participation in practices throughout training camp and preseason games. The Lakers understand that it is important for LeBron to be at his best when the games matter most and the two sides are on the same page in that regard.
The Lakers have also built a roster that will help James be able to ramp up throughout the season, which is the gaol as he spoke about in the latest episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast:
“Absolutely. When you have a dynamic, transcendent player like Luka. When you have an unbelievable complementary player in AR [Austin Reaves]. Some of the vets we got, bringing in Marcus Smart, a championship pedigree guy. Bringing in DA [Deandre Ayton], been to the Finals as well in Phoenix. And some of the other guys we got Rui another year under his belt, Vando is back healthy. So we look forward to what we can accomplish and, like you said, me being 40 on the brink of 41, I don’t have to rush myself to get to 100% in October and November and every month we’ll ramp up. But I’m happy with where I am right now.”
LeBron has always been the primary playmaker and creator throughout his career, but this Lakers squad has Luka Doncic to take on that role along with Austin Reaves proving he is more than capable of handling a bigger role as a playmaker. Deandre Ayton manning the center position will allow for James to not have to bang down low as much as he did last season while a healthy Jarred Vanderbilt lessens the defensive responsibility on the 40-year-old as well.
The Lakers and James have a plan to allow for him to be able to contribute at a high level throughout the season while slowly building momentum and being at his best down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs. Ideally that will lead to a long postseason run, which is what everyone on this team is pushing for.
LeBron James believes paying attention to details will lead to success for Lakers
The ultimate goal for this Lakers team, as is always the case, is to win a championship and that will never change. But LeBron James also pointed to the importance of being detailed every day, leading to success for this squad.
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