LOS ANGELES — He was the caboose during the Lakers’ pregame run onto the court, and he was the first one introduced before tip-off, drawing the loudest reactions of the night.
And with each flashy pass that assisted a teammate for a basket, the sold-out crowd of 18,997 inside Crypto.com Arena roared.
Because as much as Tuesday night was about another brilliant performance from Luka Doncic (37 points, 10 assists and five rebounds), who received “M-V-P” chants when he stepped up to the free-throw line, or the Lakers showcasing their offensive potential when they’re whole, the focus of the Lakers’ 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz was LeBron James making his long-awaited debut to begin his unprecedented 23rd NBA season.
“It was just fun to be out there with the guys,” James said. “It’s been rough mentally for me. 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. A lot of joy. A lot of probably seeing me smiling and talking a lot on the court. Just being out there with those guys was so fun.”
And by the time he subbed out midway through the fourth quarter, leading the Lakers during a 20-9 run in the period to open what at the time was a game-best 19-point lead, James provided a glimpse of what he could add to a Lakers team that started the season strong without him.
“He played with the right spirit,” Coach JJ Redick said. “Very unselfish all night, was a willing passer. Didn’t force it. Took his drives and his shots when they were there. The defense is going to pay attention to him, particularly when he has the ball in the post, particularly when he’s putting pressure on the rim. He made a lot of great decisions. Really good to have him back.”
The 40-year-old James had an 11-point, 12-assist double-double in 30 minutes in his first game of the season, putting on a passing masterclass and setting up a variety of teammates for easy looks after missing all of training camp and their first 14 games due to sciatica.
“I can fit in with anybody,” said James, who had more assists than points in a game for just the seventh time in his NBA career. “I can ride with anybody. So, just watching the guys in the first 14 games, just watching them and seeing. … I was just putting myself in position while I was watching the games and how I can help the team and how I can be successful to help those guys.”
Tuesday was James’ first game in 6½ months after last playing in the Lakers’ Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first-round playoff series that ended their 2024-25 season on April 30.
“Wind was a little shaky to begin,” 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 pace, versus a team like Utah, who play with a lot of pace, a lot of movement, a lot of cutting, things of that nature, tested us, tested me obviously. I was happy with the way I was able to keep up with the guys.”
With James back, Austin Reaves (26 points on 7-of-11 shooting) was able to pick his spots offensively.
Center Deandre Ayton (20 points and 14 rebounds for his third consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound double-double) was a frequent recipient of James’ playmaking. Forward Jake LaRavia (15 points on 6-of-10 shooting ) also found easier scoring opportunities because of James.
“I’m telling everybody that I’m sure with some of these passes that he didn’t even see me cutting,” Ayton said. “And just being in the right place at the right time, he’s finding you right away with sharp passes. He’s making your life easy.”
The result of James’ debut, and the offense clicking – especially in the final three quarters, when they outscored the Jazz 113-90 – was the Lakers having their highest-scoring game of the season.
“We have two of the best passers to ever touch a basketball,” Reaves said. “And with them making the right read, I’d say 90% of the time, you’re gonna play advantage basketball. And at that point, the game should be pretty easy.”
The Lakers shot a season-best 59.5% from the floor (50 for 84), despite their 3-pointers not falling at a high clip (11 for 32 – 34.4%), and improved to 11-4 on the season.
“There [are] a lot of games in the NBA, so we’ve got to go game by game,” Doncic said. “We have a lot of potential.”
Keyonte George, who was born 10 days after James’ NBA debut in 2003, had 34 points, seven assists and four rebounds to lead the Jazz (5-9). Lauri Markkanen added 31 points for Utah, which has lost five of seven games.
The Jazz jumped out to a 36-27 lead at the end of the first quarter, and held a 71-67 advantage at halftime against a Lakers defense that was often a step behind the play.
But the Lakers tightened their defense from there, holding the Jazz to 36 points over the next 18 minutes while building a game-high 23-point lead in the fourth.
“We were more physical,” Redick said. “The cadence of what they were trying to do, we started pattern [recognition] a little bit, but the physicality was where it started. We started honoring the game plan. We did to start the game, they made some shots, and we just kind of overreacted. When we started the second half, they made some shots, but again, those were tough contested shots, and then we got into a nice rhythm defensively of getting stops.”
James didn’t score in his first 11 minutes on the court, but his two 3-pointers in the first half moved him past Reggie Miller for the sixth-most in NBA history.
James made a driving layup in the third quarter to extend his streak of double-digit scoring performances to a record 1,293 games – every game in which he has played since Jan. 6, 2007. The four-time league MVP didn’t score again, but the Lakers moved comfortably ahead, closing the third quarter on a 21-5 run.
The Lakers will get a few days off from game action, not playing again until Sunday when they face the Jazz again in Salt Lake City.
