LeBron James is still playing at an All-NBA level at 37.
But the Los Angeles Lakers have been able to take advantage of what James brings just once since he signed with them four years ago, winning a championship in 2020. They made the playoffs one other time and missed the playoffs twice.
That’s not exactly what the Lakers had in mind when James left Cleveland in 2018, but here they are, searching for ways to rejoin the elite in the Western Conference, which is no easy task with Golden State, Phoenix the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver, Memphis and Dallas also in the mix.
“I came here to win a championship and I want to win more,” said James following last season in which the Lakers finished 33-49, missed the playoffs, fired coach Frank Vogel and replaced him with Darvin Ham.
Can the Lakers maximize what James has left and can they do it before he decides (possibly) to finish his career elsewhere?
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The Lakers have many issues to address, including Russell Westbrook, the logjam at the guard position, 3-point shooting, defense, and the roster in general.
But it starts with James, and to an almost equal degree Anthony Davis, and the superstars’ ability not only to perform at an All-NBA level but to stay on the court.
“When you’ve got a generational talent like AD and he goes, it puts too much pressure on LeBron who’s going into season 20,” seven-time NBA champ and former Lakers forward Robert Horry told USA TODAY Sports.
Since the Lakers won the title in the Orlando bubble, James has played in 101 of 154 regular-season games, and Davis has played in 76 of 154, missing more than he’s played in those two seasons.
“I mean, at the end of the day, the reason why we were not very good together is we weren’t on the damn floor together,” James said. “That is the No. 1 thing. I mean, how many games did we play together? We played, what, a quarter of the season together? Less than a quarter of a season. I played more games with my high school teammates in a season, and we only played 27 games. So there it is.”
If the Lakers don’t have those two on the court together for 75% of their games, their chances of doing anything in the West drop significantly.
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