LeBron James has fully embraced his new role with the Los Angeles Lakers, playing third fiddle behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
While James may not be the center of the Lakers’ offense any more, he has found ways to be equally difficult to defend because of how head coach JJ Redick has utilized him as a tertiary playmaker and finisher.
Prior to Los Angeles’ win against the Indiana Pacers, head coach Rick Carlisle admitted that it’s not enjoyable having to game plan for James even after all these years but praised him for what he’s managed to accomplish via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.
Rick Carlisle asked what it's like to game plan for LeBron James. He deadpans. "It's sucks."
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) March 25, 2026
Carlisle says it's daunting to just think about what James does to stay in this kind of condition. "Transcendent players change the game. He's changed the game."
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) March 25, 2026
Carlisle: "I've seen it all too closely over the years. Mad respect for what he's done over the years. Passing Robert Parish, for a wing player to do that over a period of 21, 22 years, there's just no words."
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) March 25, 2026
Against Indiana, James had a near triple-double of 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes of action. James shot an efficient 9-of-17 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line as the Pacers had no answers defensively.
Carlisle has had his fair share of battles against James over the years, most notably during his time as the Dallas Mavericks head coach. Carlisle and the Mavericks got the best of James in the 2011 NBA Finals, but the Lakers star eventually responded with four championships of his own.
While Indiana is playing for better draft odds, James continues to chase another title and greatness for his illustrious career. What James has done in Year 23 is unprecedented, so it’ll be exciting to see how he performs once the playoffs come around.
LeBron James highlights big key with Lakers
For stretches of the 2025-26 season, the Lakers had trouble keeping games close once opposing teams built decent-sized leads. However, Los Angeles has shown recently that they’re able to climb back out of holes and actually win games that they previously would have lost.
The Lakers recently rattled off a nine-game winning streak against several playoff-caliber teams and James praised the group’s mental toughness during their stretch.
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