LeBron James stepped onto the Crypto.com Arena court about an hour before the Lakers were getting ready to play the Utah Jazz to start his pre-game routine, the buzz building from his every movement, everyone anticipating him playing in his first game of the season.
And so it began for James, the start of his NBA-record 23rd season, the right sciatica that kept him out of the first 14 Lakers games no longer holding him back.
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James put on a show in the form of his dazzling passes to open teammates that pushed the Lakers to a 140-126 win over the Jazz on Tuesday night.
He was flashy with many of his 12 assists to go along with 11 points. He was four for seven from the field and two of three from three-point range in 29 minutes and 37 seconds of action.
James departed for good with 6:39 left and the Lakers leading by 19 points in a game Luka Doncic was a force with 37 points, 10 assists and five rebounds while Austin Reaves (26 points) and Deandre Ayton (20 points and 14 rebounds) were on top of their games again.
James last played in an NBA game on April 30, a first-round playoff loss in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves that eliminated the Lakers.
“It was just fun to be out there with the guys, man,” James said. “Like I said, it’s been rough mentally for me. Like this is the first time I’ve started a basketball season and not played since I’ve started playing basketball. Since I was nine years old, I’ve never missed the beginning of a basketball season. So just going through that physically, emotionally, spiritually and everything just tested me and keeping my head down with the work and then keeping my head up with the faith has gotten me to this point today. A lot of joy. A lot of probably seeing me smiling and talking a lot on the court today. Just being out there with those guys was so fun.”
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James missed his first shot, a three-pointer early in the first quarter, but made his second shot, a three-pointer with eight minutes and 20 seconds left in the second quarter, the 26-foot jumper on the left side of the court coming off a pass from Reaves.
A few seconds later, James was in his bag again, throwing a lob pass to Ayton for a dunk and a little later whipping a pass to a cutting Marcus Smart for a layup.
When James drilled a three-pointer with 42.7 seconds left in the second quarter, he passed Reggie Miller (2,560) for sixth-place on the NBA’s all-time regular-season three-point list at 2,561.
James started slow, but he began to build as the second quarter moved on, scoring seven points, handing out four assists and grabbing two rebounds. He was two-for-four from the field and two-for-three from three-point range, all in 17 minutes.
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The Lakers gave up 71 points in the first half, allowing the Jazz to make 55.3 % of their shots, 40% of their three-pointers.
But the Lakers improved their defense in the third quarter and they got another special moment from James, when he threw a cross-court pass to Gabe Vincent, who drilled a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give the Lakers 104-93 lead after the third.
Read more: LeBron James knows there will be a ‘feel-out’ process when he returns to Lakers
James was not done. He filled the lane on the fast break in the fourth quarter, took a pass on the wing from Reaves and then threw a left-handed pass to Ayton for a dunk.
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The Jazz called a timeout with 8:25 left, which gave the crowd a chance to cheer even more.
“Wind was a little shaky to begin (with),” James said. “Obviously that was expected. But as the game went on and on, my wind got a lot better, got my second wind, got my third wind. Rhythm is still coming back, first game in quite a while, in almost seven months. Everything that happened tonight was as expected.”
The Lakers have 67 regular-season games left and they will have to devise a plan on how to use James the rest of the season. The key is to make sure he remains healthy and available as the season progresses.
“We’re gonna have to — we used the word uncharted territory a few times in preseason — we’re gonna have to just manage this as best we can, given that there’s no precedent for it,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “He knows his body better than anyone.
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“Mike (Mancias, James’ trainer), obviously, is probably No. 2 there. The level of communication we had last year and throughout this six-, seven-week period has been really good. So, I don’t expect to change there. We’ll figure out ways to get him rest when he needs rest.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
