Simply by stepping on the hardwood, LeBron James made history this morning in the NBA. The 40-year-old veteran began his 23rd season as a player in the American League last night, an unprecedented record in the league’s 80 seasons. Despite missing the first 14 games of the stretch due to sciatica, the King He showed no shortage of performance in his 30 minutes of play on the court, where he added 11 points, three rebounds and 12 assists (4-7 on field goals; 2-3 from three-point range) after starting. The historic premiere ended with a comfortable victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Utah Jazz 140-126.
Luka Doncic, with 37 points, five rebounds and 10 assists, was the game’s top scorer. “Sharing the court with him is special. 23 seasons is crazy, and he maintains his level, which others can’t do. He’s here to help us, and in his first game he played great,” said the Slovenian, who at 26 inherited the keys to the franchise from LeBron. Despite the notable defeat, the Los Angeles team had started the season with 10 victories and last night added their eleventh, which places them in fourth position in the always challenging Western Conference led by the champions Oklahoma City Thunder (14-1).
The group’s good chemistry, with Austin Reaves’ strong performances, had raised doubts about James’ impact on his return to the field. But the uncertainty quickly faded thanks to the Ohio star’s basket-passing fest. “He played with the right attitude, being very unselfish throughout the evening. He wanted to pass the ball with will, without forcing anything, and took his shots to the basket when they were available. It was very positive to have him back”, commented his coach JJ Redick, born in 1984 like James.
LeBron, who began his professional career in 2003 with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the number one player in the drafthe is fifty games away from breaking Boston Celtics legend Robert Parish’s NBA record for games played (1,611). To his credit he also has the top score (42.195), selections for the All Star (21) and the best quintet of the competition (13). With his debut he also surpassed the 22 seasons played in the league by Vince Carter, another icon who didn’t come close to having the same ability to impact the game that James still boasts. Although it took him 11 minutes to score, his two 3-pointers to close the first half put him past a true sniper in Reggie Miller at number six on the NBA’s list of top 3-pointers.
To illustrate LeBron’s feat last night, not much perspective was needed. All you had to do was look across the field. The rival team’s top scorer, Keyonte George, 22 years old, was born 10 days after James’ debut in the NBA in 2003. The weak Jazz (5-9) did not offer much resistance to the locals despite the 33 points of the boy and 31 of their leader, the Finnish Lauri Markkanen, one of the stars of the last Eurobasket. In the third quarter, with 17 points from Doncic and a wild James dividing the game, the Lakers escape on the scoreboard after losing by 11 points in the first half.
Before his return to competition, LeBron spent several days last week training with the South Bay Lakers, the team associated with the franchise in the G-League, the training division of the NBA. It is clear that his rings do not fall, four in a career divided into two phases with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-10; 2014-18) of his home state, one with the Miami Heat (2010-14) and the current one with the Lakers starting from 2018. His palmares also include three Olympic gold medals in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Paris 2024.
This same Monday, James participated in his first five-on-five with his teammates, accelerating for his debut Tuesday evening in the United States. During the preview he said he wasn’t worried about joining the group. “I can do anything on the pitch, so I will do what the team needs when I am myself again,” he noted. He had already warned that it would take time to get back to normal after an atypical preseason, shortened and minimized by several physical setbacks.
“It’s like going back to school again. You have to learn who the guys are and everything, because they have good chemistry. I have to feel my return, do it organically. It shouldn’t be difficult, but it’s definitely a feel-based process,” LeBron analyzed. Given what we’ve seen, at first glance, it seems like the pieces fit together in Los Angeles with the King back and Doncic at the helm.
