LeBron James (Photo by William Purnell/Getty Images)
Based solely on his résumé, LeBron James should significantly enhance the Los Angeles Lakers once he returns.
James isn’t just a plug-and-play player. After winning four NBA championships and ranking high on the league’s all-time list in scoring (first) and assists (fourth), James is a plug-and-excel player.
But after missing the first 14 regular-season games while dealing with sciatica, the 40-year-old James faces more uncertainty than just when he will make his debut in the 2025-26 season. James participated in practice on Monday without any restrictions for the first time all season, making it possible he could return when the Lakers (10-4) play the Utah Jazz (5-8) on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. James also faces another series of questions.
What will James’ workload look like both in the short and long term? How much of a challenge or breeze will it be for James to adjust his role with Luka Dončić? To what extent will James’ play provide clarity on whether he will retire after this season or want to extend his career with the Lakers or somewhere else?
No one fully knows those answers. But an opposing team’s assistant coach and scout spoke to RG.org about those issues and more. Both were granted anonymity since NBA personnel are not authorized to speak publicly about other teams’ players.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interviews were conducted separately. They have also been edited and condensed.
– How do you expect LeBron’s return will play out?
NBA assistant coach: The Lakers have been playing so well. How they try to integrate LeBron back in will be interesting. He’s never been great in a complementary role. It’s not like he’s also this young man who can just catch and shoot, slash and cut. His value is his brain, size and experience. But to use all of that, you have to have the ball in your hands. So I’m not really sure. It’ll be a tough task and tough order for JJ [Redick] to manage.
NBA scout: It’ll be an adjustment when he comes back because they’ve off to a pretty good start. LeBron is not going to sit in the corner, and neither is Luka. So who is? That’s going to be Austin [Reaves]. I’m not saying that’s their plan. But I think if LeBron sat out the year, they’d actually be fine. If you have LeBron, Austin and Luka on the floor at the same time, you possibly have the worst defensive team in the league. Austin is a terrible defender. So is Luka, even though he gets five steals recently. LeBron hasn’t played defense in years. He doesn’t run back or anything. So there’s a concern about that. But what do you do? He’s coming back and he will have the ball.
– What do you expect the integration will look like?
NBA assistant coach: LeBron played well with Luka last season. But that was different because LeBron’s contract situation wasn’t at play. You didn’t have the same summer drama. Luka was only there for a little bit. So it wasn’t an accurate sample size. I don’t think that you can judge it. I don’t know how they’re going to involve him – maybe more of a screener and a roller and put a two-man game with those guys and stagger Luka and AR’s minutes. It’s going to be interesting. LeBron is always smarter than everyone out there. He just doesn’t have the brakes anymore. If you get him in rotation and close him out, he struggles.
NBA scout: LeBron will get the occasional breakaway dunk and still wow us with the tomahawk dunk behind his head. It’s incredible. But he doesn’t finish like he has before. He can’t get by people as much. He plays below the rim a lot. He just wants to shoot jumpers. I think there’s going to be some adjustment. I think he’s all about his numbers and always has been with his legacy. Would he be cool with saying he’ll score 10 points a game and average 12 assists? I don’t see that. I don’t see him looking off Luka. But they’ll have to figure out how to play with each other. You have three ball-dominant people. He likes whipping the ball around. But that’s what drives people crazy about Luka. When you’re trying to defend him, if you do get into him, he can whip those corner passes. He’s huge. Austin is not the same way. He’s more simple with a pick-and-roll for himself or throw a lob here or there to Jaxson Hayes. But he has nice symmetry with Ayton. I think they’ll play differently.
Last season, LeBron averaged 24.4 points on 51.3% shooting, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds in 34.9 minutes. What do you think his numbers will look like this season?
NBA assistant coach: That’s the thing about him. The numbers are important to him. If he’s not getting the usage, he can’t get the numbers. Then, if he’s not getting the numbers, how would he respond to that? They would have to be winning at such a high clip to accept that. I don’t know how this going to play out. With his minutes, they’ll have to put him on a restriction just because they’re not going to be able to get him the usage that he’s used to and wants. LeBron will try to make it work. He wants to win, obviously. But if it looks like he’s on the outside looking in and he tries to make it work and it doesn’t work, then there will be frustration and bad vibes.
NBA scout: I think it’ll be similar. No one really does anything to counter LeBron. Same with Luka. No one does anything imaginative with them. If you play in the drop, he’s going to beat you. If you go over the top, he’ll make the right play. Everyone plays defense the same in the NBA. I can’t imagine other than LeBron having to get into basketball shape, I can’t imagine much of a drop off. He’s got it figured out. He knows what he’s doing in this league. With the minutes, I think he’ll be in the 20-minute range to start the first couple of games. But we’ll see. I would be shocked if JJ plays him heavy minutes. He may try to keep him around 30 [minutes] later on. That’s probably what they’d like. But LeBron will want to play more than that.
– Given where he’s at in his career, what’s your outlook on him being available the rest of the season?
NBA assistant coach: He’s not going to play hurt and endure so much if he’s not involved. You might as well just sit out and not waste those miles and go somewhere else. But does someone want him? Does Cleveland want him and ruin what they have going on? Does Golden State do that? I don’t know. He’s in an interesting place. With the Luka trade, LeBron’s not in the power position anymore. So it makes him a little bit more human. He’s so used to having the power dynamic where the team has to bend to his will. But when you have Luka, you don’t really have to do that. It’ll be interesting. LeBron’s so smart and he’s obviously a winning player. So if anybody can figure it out, it’s him. But it’s going to take the coaches, Luka, AR and all of those guys to try to make it work. If one guy isn’t willing to sacrifice or starts pouting or starts being passive aggressive, it’s not going to work.
NBA scout: He’s been pretty durable for most of his career. He has missed games, though, as he has gotten older. At some point, time has to catch up to him. He also doesn’t finish the same way or attack the same way. I think he’s more cerebral than he’s ever been. But it’s that one side of the ball. Asking him to play both ways at 35-40 minutes, I don’t think that’s realistic.
Do you think LeBron will play beyond this season?
NBA assistant coach: I just don’t see how they’re going to make it work without LeBron being a focal point. I can’t imagine he’d want to go out on his career as an off-the-ball role player. So I think he’ll want to go somewhere else that wants to give him the ball. Or he could just say this is his final year depending on what his health status is. So much with him, you never know what’s real and what’s not. There’s so much business going on all the time. He’s a mega businessman and for the NBA.
NBA scout: I don’t know. I really don’t. I’m not sure what he’s going to do without this game. But when LeBron retires, he’s going to want the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar type farewell tour. He’ll want the gifts and every city giving him a standing ovation. I don’t think we’ll see a Tim Duncan retirement where he leaves all of a sudden at the end of his final game. I don’t see LeBron going out like Duncan. I can’t imagine LeBron leaving the Lakers, though. You know how exhausting that would be? Where would he go? I see it ending in LA. Wherever it is, I think he’ll want a farewell tour.
– Where do you rank LeBron’s accomplishment with playing at an All-Star caliber level in every season since his rookie year for 23 years?
NBA assistant coach: It’s incredible. It’s in a league of its own. It’s in its own category. I don’t know how you compare it to anyone else. There’s never been anything like that. There’s nothing to compare it to. You can’t compare it to Michael Jordan. He was older and wasn’t a real play with Washington. He was more of a jump shooter and space filler. He wasn’t competing at the highest level.
NBA scout: Statistically, there is no other. That’s what he is about with his legacy. He has proven that he can win on his own. He has proven that he can win with others. He’s been a champion. He’s one of one. He’s not my No. 1 guy. But we’ve never seen someone with his physical specimen. There is a lot to like. I still can’t believe that he’s still doing it. Everyone wants a championship. But I think he’s also about his legacy and his numbers.