The Lakers (14-4) are playing the first of two games in as many nights at home. They host the Phoenix Suns on Monday, which will be the team’s third game in four days after a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Playing in just his fourth game of the season, James played 34 minutes in the 129-119 win, scoring 13 points with seven assists. He missed the beginning of the season for the first time in his 23-year NBA career because of right sciatica that sidelined him for 14 games.
Despite James’ limited time, the Lakers have still thrived behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Doncic leads the NBA in scoring with 35.1 points per game. The dynamic duo combined for 72 points in Friday’s win, led by 38 points on 12-for-15 shooting from Reaves. The Lakers guard scored 31 points in the team’s first matchup against the Pelicans, a 118-104 win on Nov. 15 in New Orleans.
The Pelicans (3-17) have the worst record in the Western Conference. The Lakers need James for the tougher matchup against the Suns (12-9) on Monday before playing in Toronto on Thursday, the first game of a three-game East Coast road trip.
The Lakers will also be without guard Marcus Smart (back spasms) for the second consecutive game.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: During parts of Sunday’s game in Utah, LeBron James desperately motioned toward the Lakers bench for a sub. When asked after the game about a particularly labored stretch during the second quarter, James quipped that it wasn’t just that moment.
“First, second, third and fourth,” James joked Sunday in Utah. “Come get me.”
Two days later, James looked almost back to normal as he had season-high 25 points, showing he had no trouble pushing the pace in transition while the team was plus-18 with him on the court.
“It will get better every game,” James said Tuesday of his conditioning. “Today was another … testament to that. So great win for us, but I’m starting to feel better and better.”
Coach JJ Redick said the Lakers will be tracking James’ three-point shooting, play-making and transition points as indicators of how he is progressing in his return from sciatica that sidelined him for 14 games.
Chad Baker-Mazara scored 23 points, Jaden Brownell added 16 points, and USC claimed the Maui Invitational championship with an 88-75 victory over Arizona State on Wednesday.
Baker-Mazara won the tournament championship for the second consecutive year after scoring 14 points in Auburn’s 90-76 victory over Memphis last season. Baker-Mazara made nine of 16 shots from the field against Arizona State with four three-pointers.
USC took the first double-digit lead of the game at 77-66 with 5:14 remaining on a basket by Ezra Ausar. The Trojans drew an offensive foul under the ASU basket and Jordan Marsh sank a jumper from the free-throw line to make it 81-69.
On Wednesday, the Rams designated receiver Tutu Atwell and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to return from injured reserve. Both could play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., coach Sean McVay said.
The Rams also placed cornerback Roger McCreary on injured reserve, claimed cornerback Derion Kendrick off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks and signed veteran tight end Nick Vannett to the roster.
Max Sasson and Drew O’Connor scored in a late 2:10 span, Nikita Tolopilo made 37 saves in his first NHL appearance of the season and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Ducks 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Sasson gave Vancouver the lead with 4:02 remaining on a tip, and O’Connor followed with 1:52 to go on a wrist shot. Cutter Gauthier got one back for the Ducks with seven seconds left, his 14th of the season.
Jackson LaCombe, Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish added goals for the Ducks, who have three victories in the first five games of a six-game homestand.
1913 — Notre Dame and Texas meet for the first time in a Thanksgiving showdown. Both carry perfect records into the game, with Notre Dame not losing a game in three years and the Longhorns on a 12-game winning streak. The Fighting Irish build on a 10-7 halftime lead, scoring 20 unanswered points for a 30-7 win at Austin, Texas. The win gives Notre Dame a 7-0 season for rookie coach Jesse Harper.
1947 — Howie Dallmar of the Philadelphia Warriors sets an NBA record for the most field-goal attempts with none made (15) in an 81-59 loss to the New York Knicks.
1949 — Steve Van Buren of the Philadelphia Eagles becomes the second NFL player, the first in 16 years, to rush over 200 yards. He runs for 205 yards in a 34-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
1960 — Trailing 38-7, the Denver Broncos score 31 points to salvage a 38-38 tie with the Buffalo Bills.
1960 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe scores his 1,000th point with an assist, and the Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0. It’s Howe’s 938th NHL game.
1961 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe becomes the first to play 1,000 NHL games.
1965 — Gordie Howe becomes the first NHL player to score 600 goals. The milestone comes in Detroit’s 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
1966 — The Washington Redskins set an NFL regular-season record for most points in a 72-41 victory over the New York Giants. Both teams also set records with 16 TDs and 113 total points.
1980 — Dave Williams returns Eddie Murray’s opening kickoff in overtime 95 yards to give the Chicago Bears a 23-17 victory over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The Bears tied the score with no time remaining in regulation.
1994 — Joe Montana of the Kansas City Chiefs becomes the fifth quarterback to surpass 40,000 passing yards in a 10-9 loss at Seattle.
1998 — Texas’ Ricky Williams becomes the leading rusher in Division I-A history, breaking Tony Dorsett’s record set 22 years earlier.
2009 — Graham Gano kicks a 33-yard field goal in overtime to give the Las Vegas Locomotives a 20-17 victory over the Florida Tuskers in the inaugural UFL championship game.
2011 — The Connecticut women’s basketball team wins its 89th straight at home to set an NCAA record, beating Dayton 78-38 behind freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis’ 23 points.
2015 — James Harden scores 50 points to lead Houston past Philadelphia 116-114 for the 76ers’ 27th straight loss dating to last season, the longest losing streak in major U.S. pro sports. The previous record was set by the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976-77 and matched by the 76ers in 2013-14.
2016 — Justin Tucker makes all four of his field-goal attempts, including ones from 52, 54 and 57 yards, in Baltimore’s 19-14 victory over Cincinnati. Tucker has made 34 field goals in a row, including 27 this season, and has connected on all 15 conversion. It is Tucker’s 11th game with at least four field goals since entering the NFL in 2012.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves drives to the hoop as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends in the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers locked up their spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, but there are still meaningful Cup games to be played.
With a 3-0 record in West Group B, the Lakers can clinch home-court advantage in the quarterfinals with a win Friday against the Dallas Mavericks in the group stage finale. A win would be the simplest way to avoid resorting to the point differential tiebreaker that could still be in play to decide the No. 1 seed in the West. Outscoring opponents by 36 points, the Lakers’ point differential is 27 points behind West Group A leaders Oklahoma City (2-0 in group play) for the potential No. 1 seed. The top-seeded team will host the wild-card team, which earns its spot in the quarterfinal by virtue of being the best second-place team in group play. Portland and Denver are tied atop West Group C with 2-1 records.
The three-year-old NBA Cup, inspired by similar in-season tournaments in European leagues, has sparked confusion about the colorful courts and ever-changing group stage scenarios. The potential extra road trip and extra championship game could end up putting more wear on teams that have larger playoff ambitions, but the prize makes it worth the trouble: $500,000 for each player.
“Obviously I’ll accept money,” Doncic said with a sarcastic smile. “That’s easy. … I played it in Spain, something like this, so I like it. Just the courts, please.”
Doncic said the Lakers’ NBA Cup court — bright yellow with the gold and black trophy painted into the key — caused problems for a few players as they slipped on the new hardwood. An area near the free-throw line in front of the Clippers bench appeared to be especially slippery. Doncic said he could tell immediately during warm-ups that the surface could be a problem.
“I slipped a lot of times and you could see a lot of players slipped,” Doncic said. “And that’s dangerous, man.”
Redick said he noticed players slipping, but also that they were falling prior to that. He said the team will look into the court.
In the starting lineup, coming off the bench or even on the pickleball court, Marcus Smart knows he can deliver what the Lakers need. So LeBron James’ return and the question of how it could affect his role isn’t slowing down Smart.
“I like to [think of] myself as a Swiss Army knife,” Smart said Saturday as the Lakers prepared for a game at Utah on Sunday. “It’s not one thing I do great, but I do everything very well. … People come back, people get hurt. People have great games, have bad games. You have to adjust to whatever the game is calling for at that moment.”
With four days to regroup after James made his long-awaited season debut, the Lakers (11-4) want to continue their strong start. Smart had started nine times in a row before James’ return. Smart then played a season-low 17 minutes in Tuesday’s 140-126 win against the Jazz at home, scoring five points with three rebounds. He made just two shots, but coach JJ Redick commended Smart’s play off the bench along with the performances of Jake LaRavia, Jaxson Hayes and Gabe Vincent.
Vincent returned from a sprained ankle that cost him 11 games to score six points on two-for-three shooting from three-point range. LaRavia led the bench group with 16 points and four rebounds. He was six for 10 from the field, including two three-pointers.
Signing as a free agent this offseason, LaRavia knew getting to play with James was part of the deal. He had to wait through training camp, the preseason and 14 games to get his wish, but it was worth it. The 24-year-old LaRavia, who was five days shy of his second birthday when James made his NBA debut, knocked down a first-quarter shot off a James assist.
“It was dope to finally get on the court with him,” LaRavia said. “He brings something to this team that I don’t think we really had. It’s another level of passing ability that he’s able to do, and just the force he is on offense in transition and just when he has the ball in his hands.”
The Lakers are tied for the second-fewest transition possessions per game but they’ve been picking up the pace. Through the first nine games the team was scoring 9.5% of its points in transition. That mark ticked up to 13.4% in the last five games.
Utah (5-10) is one of the fastest teams, averaging 102.6 possessions per game. With pace increasing over the years, the heavier workloads have made minor soft-tissue injuries unfortunate realities in the NBA. They also make extended breaks between games, like the four-day reprieve the Lakers had last week, a major luxury.
In between much-needed rest and efficient practice sessions for a team that has been fully healthy for only a week, the Lakers also used the time for team bonding in the form of a trash-talk-filled pickleball tournament.
Smart and Redick and a third teammate, head video coordinator Michael Wexler — whom Redick anonymously accused of eating during the entire tournament — went to the semifinals. They lost to Luka Doncic and player development coach Ty Abbott. LaRavia and assistant coach Beau Levesque won the championship. Redick raised questions about the fairness of the team pairings.
As with everything involving ultracompetitive athletes, even the innocent pickleball games got heated. Smart was trying to be mindful to not push his limits too much.
“The last thing I need to get out and do is roll my ankle trying to play pickleball,” said Smart, who said he would rather play tennis.
It was still a welcome break from the monotony of the season, Redick said. He graded the experience an A.
“We got through this week without wanting to kill each other,” Redick said with a smirk.
Etc.
Center Deandre Ayton missed practice Saturday because of an illness. He was expected to join the team on the trip to Utah.
From Dylan Hernández: While the game didn’t provide any definitive answers about what LeBron James will do in his record-breaking 23rd season, it offered promising signs about what he won’t do.
The point was made most emphatically by how he played in the 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena.
In the 30 minutes he played, James shot the ball only seven times, less than any other Lakers starter.
He didn’t have problems with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remaining the team’s primary options.
He didn’t mind picking his spots.
He didn’t mind spending most of the game as a peripheral figure on the court.
“Just thought he played with the right spirit,” coach JJ Redick said. “Very unselfish all night. Willing passer. Didn’t force it. Took his drive and his shots when they were there.”
The Rams on Wednesday placed safety Quentin Lake, tight end Tyler Higbee and right tackle Rob Havenstein on injured reserve.
Lake, who had surgery Tuesday for a dislocated left elbow, Higbee (ankle) and Havenstein (knee/ankle) must sit out at least four games before they are eligible to return. The earliest return would be a Dec. 18 game against the Seahawks in Seattle.
From Ryan Kartje: Last month, in the span of a single half, USC’s top two running backs were lost to serious injuries. For Eli Sanders, the knee injury he suffered against Michigan prematurely ended his season. For Waymond Jordan, ankle surgery meant missing most of the Trojans’ critical stretch run.
For USC, it made for a particularly cruel one-two punch. Through the first six games, the Trojans duo had been a top-10 rushing attack in the nation, trending toward the best rushing season USC had seen in two decades. Then, in less than an hour’s time, a promising start had been derailed by injury.
“That could almost be a death sentence,” coach Lincoln Riley said Wednesday.
But with just two games left in the season, the Trojans rushing attack still is very much alive. And USC still is clinging to College Football Playoff hopes because of it.
Ian Moore scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:35 to play, and Lukas Dostal made 36 saves in the Ducks’ 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
Jansen Harkins. Radko Gudas and Ryan Strome also scored for the first-place Ducks, who have won nine of 12 after sweeping their season series with the Bruins.
The Bruins dominated long stretches of play and tied it with 12:21 left with Morgan Geekie’s second goal on a power play just seven seconds after Harkins took an awful cross-checking penalty.
1934 — Busher Jackson scores four third-period goals to power the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Eagles.
1960 — Jerry Norton of St. Louis intercepts four passes to send past the Washington Redskins 26-14.
1969 — Brazilian soccer legend Pelé scores his 1,000th goal.
1977 — Walter Payton rushes for an NFL record 275 yards, and the Chicago Bears edge the Minnesota Vikings 10-7.
1979 — Red Holzman of the New York Knicks wins his 500th game, a 130-125 overtime victory over Houston at Madison Square Garden. Holzman is the second coach, after Red Auerbach, to reach that mark.
1983 — Seattle’s Dave Krieg passes for 418 yards and three touchdowns, lifting the Seahawks to a 27-19 victory over the Denver Broncos.
1983 — Steve Bartkowski throws a 42-yard desperation pass that is deflected to Billy Johnson at the 5-yard line, and he then fights his way into the end zone to give the Atlanta Falcons a 28-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
1994 — Tisha Venturini scores twice and Angela Kelly, Sarah Dacey and Robin Confer add goals for North Carolina, which beats Notre Dame 5-0 for its ninth consecutive NCAA women’s soccer championship.
1997 — A.C. Green breaks the NBA record for consecutive games — his 907th straight appearance in the Dallas Mavericks’ 101-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Green surpasses Randy Smith’s mark of 906 set from 1972-83.
1999 — TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for an NCAA Division I record 406 yards on 43 carries with six touchdowns in a 52-24 victory over UTEP.
2001 — Ball State beats No. 3 UCLA 91-73 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, one day after knocking off No. 4 Kansas in the opening round.
2010 — Mikel Leshoure of Illinois rushes for a school-record 330 yards and scores two touchdowns in the Fighting Illini’s 48-27 win over Northwestern at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. All offensive plays are run toward the same end zone because a brick wall, although heavily padded, is too close behind the other one.
2011 — Brittney Griner has 32 points and 14 rebounds while Baylor establishes itself as the clear No. 1 team with a 94-81 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame in the preseason WNIT championship game.
2011 — Landon Donovan scores in the 72nd minute on passes from Robbie Keane and David Beckham, and the Galaxy’s three superstars win their first MLS Cup together with a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo.
2012 — Jack Taylor scores 138 points to shatter the NCAA scoring record in Division III Grinnell’s 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible in Grinnell, Iowa.
2016 — Jimmie Johnson ties Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with a record seven NASCAR championships when he defeats Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and defending champion Kyle Busch at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
While the game didn’t provide any definitive answers about what LeBron James will do in his record-breaking 23rd season, it offered promising signs about what he won’t do.
James indirectly said that leading up to his season debut on Tuesday and he indirectly said that again after.
The point was made most emphatically by how he played in the 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena.
In the 30 minutes he played, James shot the ball only seven times, less than any other Lakers starter.
He didn’t have problems with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remaining the team’s primary options.
He didn’t mind picking his spots.
He didn’t mind spending most of the game as a peripheral figure on the court.
“Just thought he played with the right spirit,” coach JJ Redick said. “Very unselfish all night. Willing passer. Didn’t force it. Took his drive and his shots when they were there.”
The 40-year-old James acknowledged that his conditioning remained a problem — “Wind was low,” he said — but he played so much within himself that he never looked visibly fatigued.
This is what the Lakers needed from James on Tuesday, as it allowed them to build on the 10-4 record they compiled in the games he missed because of sciatica. And this could be the kind of mindset the Lakers will need James to adopt for the remainder of the season, especially if Doncic and Reaves continue to score at their current rates.
“I don’t have to worry about [chemistry],” James said.
James sounded offended by questions implying he could have trouble fitting in with the team.
“I don’t even understand why that was a question,” he said.
Concerns over his ability to meld with his particular team were never based on his basketball IQ or skillset but instead how open he would be to accepting a reduced role.
This is a player who was the centerpiece of every team on which he’d ever played. This is also a player who craves attention and is notoriously passive aggressive.
In retrospect, suggesting that James couldn’t adapt to a new role might have sold him short. Whatever he’s said off the court, he’s usually made the right decisions on them.
“There’s not one team, not one club, in the world that I cannot fit in and play for,” James said the day before his return. “I can do everything on the floor. So whatever this team needs me to do, I can do it when I’m back to myself.”
Or even before that.
James scored only 11 points against the Jazz, but he still had his moments.
Starting in the final second of the third quarter, James assisted on seven of the next eight Lakers baskets, a four-minute-30-second stretch over which the team extended its lead from eight to 17.
From the left wing, James found Gabe Vincent in the opposite corner for an open three.
Double-teamed at the top of the key, James dropped a bounce pass to Jaxson Hayes, who soared for an open dunk.
James flipped a couple of no-look passes to Deandre Ayton and delivered a backdoor assist from the post to Jake LaRavia.
James finished with a game-high 12 assists.
“Good player,” Reaves said.
Describing his frustration over not playing the previous 14 games, James said he was grateful to just be playing.
“A lot of joy,” he said. “You probably saw me smiling and talking a lot on the court today.”
But he also sounded as if he wanted to prove something.
“I said it, was it yesterday’s practice, post practice?” James said. “I can fit in with anybody.”
Carefully watching his teammates in the games that he missed, James said he pictured where he could position himself and how he could contribute.
James will average more than 11 points this season. He’s still too good to not. But the Lakers almost certainly won’t need him to average 24 points as he did last season. How open he is to that could determine if they are just a playoff team or a legitimate contender.
The Lakers (11-4) accomplished plenty without James during their first 14 games. Luka Doncic jump-started his most valuable player campaign and rose to the top of the NBA scoring leaderboard. Austin Reaves is averaging career highs nearly across the board. Some wondered how much the team would really benefit from James’ return when it started 10-4 already.
Then the Lakers scored a season-high 140 points, shot a season-best 59.5% from the field and locked down on defense to allow just 32 points in the first 21 minutes of the second half before the benches cleared.
“I can fit in with anybody,” James said. “I don’t even understand why that was a question.”
Doncic continued his scoring spree with 37 points and 10 assists, but with eight turnovers. Reaves had 26 points.
The Lakers lauded their early season chemistry, and coach JJ Redick praised his players for leading themselves through difficult times. He purposely restructured timeouts to give players time to discuss alone before the coaches would join them, hoping that the opportunities for player-to-player communication would prompt stronger team connection. Adding James’ voice to the conversation was an easy transition.
“Us as a young team, I’m glad we got hold of accountability before LeBron got out there,” Ayton said. “I’m glad we went through some tough games and a little of hardships and ups and downs and adversity. And it made us prepare for times like this where he says one thing and we get it done right away.”
The Jazz (5-9) knocked the Lakers back with guard Keyonte George making five threes in the first half and 23 points on nine for 15 shooting. Utah jumped out to a 11-point lead in the first half, but the Lakers tied it with 18.8 seconds left in the second quarter and went into halftime down by four, prepared to make a push.
“I think the word we were using as a coaching staff was our poise as a group,” Redick said. “Not overreacting, not pulling apart, problem solving, all that stuff, in real time. Just continuing to play. That, at times, was missing last year, and for us to get that on the first night [fully healthy] was really good.”
James began his 23rd NBA season in Lakers’ home win as Curry’s Warriors lost to Orlando Magic despite his 34 points.
Published On 19 Nov 202519 Nov 2025
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LeBron James has broken the record for most NBA seasons after appearing for the Los Angeles Lakers in his 23rd after missing almost the first full month of the campaign due to sciatica.
The 40-year-old superstar, a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, missed the Lakers first 14 games before taking the court at home against Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
The Lakers rallied for a 140-126 victory over the visiting Jazz.
James, the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, practiced with the Lakers on Monday and had no pain or soreness after his first game-style workout with the club since last season’s playoffs.
That set the stage for him to start against the Jazz, breaking a tie with Vince Carter for the most career seasons in NBA history.
The home crowd cheered as James was introduced and moments later James made history when the game tipped off.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons stretched their longest winning streak since 2008 to 11 games with a 120-112 victory in Atlanta, snapping the Hawks’ five-game win streak.
The Pistons, who lead the Eastern Conference at 13-2, got 25 points and 10 assists from Cade Cunningham and 24 points with eight rebounds from Jalen Duren.
Jalen Johnson sparked Atlanta (9-6) with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
At Brooklyn, Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Payton Pritchard added 22 and 10 rebounds to spark the Boston Celtics in a 113-99 victory over the Nets.
Desmond Bane scored 23 points and reserve Anthony Black added 21 to lead the Orlando Magic over the visiting Golden State Warriors 121-113.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors (9-7) with 34 points while Jimmy Butler added 33 in a losing cause.
Stephen Curry’s 34 points were not enough to lead Golden State Warriors to a win over Orlando Magic in Orlando [John Raoux/AP]
At San Antonio, De’Aaron Fox scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and Harrison Barnes added 23 to spark the host Spurs over Memphis 111-101.
The Spurs (10-4) were without star big man Victor Wembanyama due to a left calf strain and guard Stephon Castle with a left hip flexor strain while Memphis star guard Ja Morant was sidelined by a right calf strain.
“We are trying to do this as a collective. There’s no replacing Vic,” Barnes said. “Were just trying to find ways to win, share the ball, move the ball, that’s how we’ll do that.”
Barnes scored the first seven points in an 11-0 game-closing run to secure the victory.
“Harrison Barnes carried us through this. That’s just what a vet does,” Fox said. “It felt great winning the game with all the guys we have out.
“We have a team and we know that when one guy goes down we have a number of guys that can step up. No one guy will take up the slack for one being out.”
LeBron James will make his season debut Tuesday when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, after sciatica kept James sidelined for the Lakers’ first 14 games.
James is “trending in the right direction,” coach JJ Redick said before Tuesday’s game, which will mark the beginning of James’ NBA-record 23rd season. The 40-year-old missed the beginning of a season for the first time in his NBA career after starting to feel discomfort in his right side this summer.
James missed all of training camp and the preseason. The Lakers put together a 10-4 record despite playing without their biggest star. In his place, Luka Doncic has emerged as the NBA’s leading scorer and guard Austin Reaves is off to a career season.
The star trio played together for several months last year after Doncic joined the Lakers in a blockbuster trade, helping the team grab the third seed in the Western Conference. Redick expects the experience to help James integrate smoothly this year.
“He’s smart enough and [there’s] enough carry over from last year, both with personnel and with our schemes, that I think it’ll be easy for him to be integrated right away,” Redick said.
James said after practice Monday he was not yet pain-free, but he has been able to manage the nerve injury enough to progress through practices with the G League team, the full NBA squad and then Tuesday’s shootaround. James said dealing with sciatica came with unexpected challenges. He often could only hope he wouldn’t feel pain when he woke up in the morning or when he went to sleep.
Redick said the team and James are approaching “uncharted territory” when it comes to managing the superstar’s health. Conversations have been consistent and will be ongoing as the season progresses.
“We’ll figure out ways to get him rest when he needs rest,” Redick said.
Staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.
Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where I need a recovery ice bath after all that travel.
The Lakers went 3-2 during an uneven trip that ended on a high note with back-to-back wins in New Orleans and Milwaukee. But after getting thrashed by Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the five-game trip, Marcus Smart said the team was starting to show its fatigue on the road. After packing, repacking and already reaching the next level of hotel loyalty status less than a month into the season, I can relate.
But, similiar to my favorite colleague Brad Turner picking up the travel slack, the Lakers also have reinforcements.
All things Lakers, all the time.
LeBron James is back. Now what?
Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic established themselves as one of the league’s most dynamic duos while powering the shorthanded Lakers to a 10-4 record. With LeBron James officially back on the Lakers’ practice court, he could make this three a real party.
“I’m a ball player,” James said Monday after his first full practice with the team this year. “… There’s not one team, not one club in the world that I cannot fit in and play for. I can do everything on the floor. So whatever this team needs me to do, I can do it when I’m back to myself.”
Despite the encouraging start that has the team fourth in the West, the Lakers are not modern basketball’s statistical darling. They play slowly (19th in pace), take the fourth-fewest three-pointers in the league while making the second-worst percentage and have the third-most turnovers per game. James, who still stopped short of saying he is pain-free from right sciatica, is unlikely to be an immediate solution to any of those problems.
But he is still the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s LeBron,” Reaves said. “Just his presence and his ability is going to lift the team.”
The team joked during the film session that it got a new player Monday. James introduced himself to his teammates. Reaves and Doncic have become the favorite “bromance” of some niche NBA social media circles, and the Lakers’ chemistry was one of the key talking points from its early season success. Players joke on the bench, trash talk each other in Instagram comments and Doncic’s post-practice half-court shooting competition has expanded to include at least three other teammates.
James observed all the good vibes from afar. He sent congratulatory texts after wins and encouraging texts after losses, but returning Monday felt like “a kid going to a new school again.” He knows fitting with the team will have to come organically.
“He has the ability to lift everybody’s day,” Reaves said. “All these guys grew up loving him. So it’s good to get his voice back in the room and obviously the IQ speaks for itself, as well.”
When asked of what he saw from the team while sidelined, James rattled off a long list of observations. He loved the ball movement. He noted Deandre Ayton’s ability to anchor the back line and commended the 7-foot center as “one of the best screen setters” in the league. James shouted out the 25 critical minutes from Maxi Kleber in the win over Milwaukee, the contributions of Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart and the way younger players such as Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James chipped in when the team was shorthanded against Portland on the second night of a back-to-back.
And he loved the dominance from Doncic and Reaves.
Doncic is leading the league in scoring with 34.4 points per game. He’s getting blitzed almost every time he crosses midcourt and still orchestrating an offense that is second in field-goal percentage (50.4).
Reaves is having a career year: 28.3 points, 8.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals are all career-bests. Of course with James out, Reaves’ usage rate is also at an all-time high.
When asked how he expects coverages to change for him with James back, Reaves shrugged. It’ll at least make his life easier, he said, to have who he calls “the greatest player to ever touch a basketball” back on the court.
“I don’t expect it to be perfect,” coach JJ Redick said. “But I also don’t expect it to be like, ‘Oh, these guys have never seen each other and met each other and don’t know each other’s name.’ They know what each of them bring.”
Last year, the Doncic-James-Reaves trio had an offensive rating of 117.8 points per 100 possessions. This year, the Lakers have a 121.6 offensive rating when Doncic and Reaves are on the floor together, the team’s highest mark for any two-man combination of starters.
Redick expects James’ presence will shake things up. He will command roughly 35 minutes when he is healthy, which will naturally disrupt the rotation and rhythm of his teammates. This will take some trial and error.
“There are some little formula of things you got to add,” Redick said. “If you put too much cinnamon in there, cookie’s not that good.”
Just let the Lakers cook.
The rookie will remember his first
Adou Thiero dunks over Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr.
(Morry Gash / Associated Press)
Adou Thiero fought to get back on the court and make his NBA debut. It was only right that his teammates would fight for him to commemorate the moment.
After the second-round pick scored four points in his first NBA action Saturday, including an emphatic two-handed dunk in the final minute of the win, Jarred Vanderbilt made sure to grab the game ball. He clutched it tightly as referee Pat Fraher tried to take it back. LaRavia and Doncic soon joined for backup, explaining they wanted to keep it for Thiero.
Eventually, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who took the ball back from a Bucks staffer and handed it to Doncic, who wanted to deliver the meaningful memento to the Lakers’ rookie.
“I think he can be a great player,” Doncic told reporters. “He’s physical. He can jump out of the gym. And, you know, he’s a fighter.”
Redick and the coaching staff were mindful that the situation could have been difficult for Thiero. He didn’t get a preseason or a training camp. The rookie was coming off an injury and playing in the first half while making his NBA debut.
But Thiero made a good first impression.
He scrambled for an offensive rebound that led to a three-pointer from Kleber in the first quarter. He played a quick two-minute stint in the first half then returned in mop-up duty during the fourth quarter, scoring his first points on two made free throws that had the Lakers on their feet celebrating.
Then his two-handed dunk in transition sent the Lakers’ bench into pandemonium.
“Coming down and seeing everybody flexing all over the bench,” Thiero said, “it was just a good feeling for everybody to be happy for me.”
When Thiero returned to the locker room, it felt like a release. He told teammates he had waited seven months for that.
He suffered a hyperextended knee while playing for Arkansas on Feb. 22 and missed eight games. The Razorbacks’ leading scorer and rebounder returned in the NCAA regional semifinal but played just six minutes off the bench as Arkansas lost to Texas Tech. He got surgery after the college season and said at Lakers media day he was still working through some swelling in his knee.
“You could tell how hard he works,” Reaves said. “The time that he’s in the gym. He’s had some unfortunate injuries here and there, but really good kid, wants to do the right things, always on time. Just good character.”
On tap
By reader request, we’ll include a brief lookahead section previewing the upcoming week’s games. This one is easy: The Lakers host Utah on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in their only game this week.
The Jazz (5-8) lost center Walker Kessler to a season-ending shoulder surgery, but are led by forward Lauri Markkanen’s 30.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. The Finnish forward scored 47 points in the Jazz’s double-overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in which guard Keyonte George hit the game-winning three with two seconds left. The third-year guard is averaging career-highs in points (22.2) and assists (seven).
Favorite thing I ate this week
The Cuban burrito from Cafe Kacao in Oklahoma City.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I have beef with Oklahoma City. Out of loyalty to my hometown, I will carry this vendetta until at least the NBA expands back to Seattle. But I allow myself to praise precisely one thing in that city and it’s the Cuban burrito at Cafe Kacao. It’s packed with vaca frita (shredded beef with sauteed onions), plantains, black beans and rice. The sweet and savory drizzle of plantain sauce and garlic sauce is the perfect topping.
LeBron James said his lungs felt like those of a “newborn baby” and his voice was “already gone” after his first Lakers practice Monday as he moved a step closer toward making his season debut after being sidelined by sciatica.
The Lakers listed James as questionable for Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena, and he sounded as if he was close to playing in his NBA-record 23rd season.
“We got a long time,” said James as he wiped sweat from his face while speaking to reporters. “I mean, we’ve been taking literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process. So, see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning. … We’ll probably have [a] shootaround [Tuesday]. So, just gotta see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”
LeBron James on how he’s feeling: “My lungs feel like a newborn baby.”
Says he’s trying to get his conditioning back up and his voice is already shot from yelling at practice, but he was happy to be back. pic.twitter.com/rl6WMAuYmw
James, who will turn 41 next month, was asked how long it took him to become pain-free.
“I wouldn’t take it that far,” James said. “Like I said, if you ever had it, you go about it and you wake up one day and you hope that when you step down from the bed that you don’t feel it. You go to bed at night, and you hope that when you’re in the bed that you don’t feel it. So I’ve been doing pretty good with it as of late. There’s a lot of exercises and a lot of mobility things and a lot of things you can do to help it. So I’m just keeping a positive mindset.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick said it was like having a new player in practice with James on the court.
James agreed, saying, “Definitely feels new, for sure.”
The Lakers have four days off after Tuesday’s game against Utah — including three practice days — before playing the Jazz in Salt Lake City on Sunday.
“One day back, barking out calls and assignments and stuff, getting my voice working again,” said James about his first day at practice. “Be a lot of tea and rest tonight.”
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer (42,184 points), admitted he had to mentally adjust to missing the start of a season for the first time in his career.
“It sucks. It definitely sucks,” James said. “Never in my life since I started playing the game of basketball have I ever not started the season — in my life. It’s been a mind test, but I’m built for it and it’s been putting in the work, both mentally and physically trying to get myself ready to rejoin the team.
“It’s just been kind of the same revolving door. Just repetition, repetition, repetition; rehabbing, rehabbing, rehabbing. Just trying to get back where I can feel like myself again. It’s great to be out here today.”
James said this wasn’t the first time in his career that he had sciatica.
“I had it two years ago,” he said. “You had it, then you know what the hell it’s about. If you ain’t never had it and people are making jokes about it, I pray you never get it. It’s not fun.”
James practiced with the Lakers’ G League team, the South Bay Lakers, twice last week, getting in some five-on-five work.
“It was great,” James said. “I got cleared to play some five-on-five for the first time since … hurting my MCL versus Minnesota. And that was the blessing.”
The Lakers have gone 10-4 without James. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have led the way as one of the most potent two-way tandems in the early part of the NBA season.
Doncic leads the NBA in scoring (34.4 points per game) and Reaves is ninth (28.3). Doncic is fifth in assists (8.9) and Reaves is seventh (8.2).
James, who is 50 games away from breaking Robert Parish’s all-time record of most games played in NBA history (1,611), knows he’ll have to adjust things when he returns.
“I have to work my way back into it,” James said. “The guys have been going on road trips, shootarounds, flights. So it’s kind of like a kid going to a new school again. Got to learn the guys and everything. So they got some great chemistry. Feeling my way back in and do it organically. It shouldn’t be hard. But it’s definitely a feel-out process.”
Etc.
Redick said all 14 players practiced for the first time this season and that Rui Hachimura (left call soreness) and Marcus Smart (viral illness) will be available to play against the Jazz after sitting out against Milwaukee on Saturday.
NEW ORLEANS — LeBron James is making progress in his return from injury, and that’s a good sign for a Lakers team that has performed unevenly over a five-game trip.
Before the Lakers’ 118-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Lakers coach JJ Redick said James, who has been dealing with sciatica, took part in an individual workout on Friday following consecutive days of five-on-five practice with the South Bay Lakers.
The Lakers finish their trip against Milwaukee on Saturday night. James will then practice with the Lakers on Monday. If all goes well, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer could start his league-record 23rd season Tuesday against Utah at Crypto.com Arena.
When he does return, how will James, who turns 41 next month, adjust to the chemistry the Lakers have established with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves at the center of the offense?
“I’ve certainly thought about it,” Redick said about how James’ return will affect the team. “The reality is, next week will be a great week for all of us to assess where we’re at and figure out what we want to work on. It’s rare that you have one game over the course of a week, so probably will think about it more then. But typically when you’re playing every other day, you’re using your time until 3 a.m. to review the game that you just played and then using the time the next day until 3 a.m. to get ready for the next game.”
Last season, James averaged 24.4 points per game, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists last season, while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.6% from three-point range.
Lakers players don’t think James’ return will cause any issues.
Jarred Vanderbilt said James “can bring an element that we need, essentially, knowing that he can provide that.”
“I know it’s probably tough,” Vanderbilt said. “But even just the integration, trying to integrate himself as a player, as a team mid-season is kind of tough. But we’re excited for his return, whenever he comes back, and I know he can provide exactly what we need for this team.”
Reaves led the way against the Pelicans, finishing with 31 points and seven assists as the Lakers (9-4) improved to 2-0 in NBA Cup play.
Doncic scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half and finished with 12 assists and six rebounds.
Deandre Ayton was a force for the Lakers inside with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Trey Murphy III led the Pelicans (2-10) with 35 points and six rebounds.
Etc.
Lakers rookie Adou Thiero, who has been out all season recovering from left knee surgery, was activated, but did not play against Pelicans, but did not play. Redick said he hopes to potentially give Thiero some playing time against the Bucks.
NEW YORK — Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he profited from rigged poker games and provided sports bettors with non-public information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Jones, a onetime teammate of James, said little during back-to-back arraignments in federal court in Brooklyn, letting his court-appointed lawyer enter not guilty pleas in a pair of cases stemming from last month’s federal takedown of sprawling gambling operations.
Jones, 49, acknowledged he read both indictments and that he understood the charges and his bail conditions, which include his mother and stepfather putting up their Texas home as collateral for a $200,000 bond that will allow him to remain free pending trial.
Jones’ lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery, told a judge that they “may be engaging in plea negotiations.” He is due back in court for a preliminary conference with other defendants on Nov. 24.
Jones was among more than 30 people arrested in the gambling sweep. The others included reputed mobsters and prominent basketball figures, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
Sports bettor Marves Fairley also pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges alleging he cashed in on information about injuries to NBA players, including some that prosecutors say Jones provided to him.
Jones, an NBA journeyman, earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009. He and James played together in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008 and he served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’ Lakers during the 2022-2023 season.
According to prosecutors, Jones sold or attempted to sell non-public information to bettors that James was injured and wouldn’t be playing in a Feb. 9, 2023, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, texting an unnamed co-conspirator: “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out.”
James wasn’t listed on the Lakers’ injury report at the time of the text message, but the NBA’s all-time scoring leader was later ruled out of the game because of a lower body jury, according to prosecutors, and the Lakers lost the game 115-106.
On Jan. 15, 2024, prosecutors said, Fairley paid Jones approximately $2,500 for a tip that Davis, the Lakers’ forward and center at the time, would see limited playing time against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of an injury.
Fairley then placed a $100,000 bet on the Thunder to win, prosecutors said, but the tip was wrong. Davis played his usual minutes, scored 27 points and collected 15 rebounds in a 112-105 Lakers win, prompting Fairley to demand a refund of his $2,500 fee, prosecutors said.
Jones, a native of Galveston, Texas, who played college basketball at the University of Houston, is charged in both cases with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. As part of his bail agreement, his travel is restricted to parts of Texas and New York City. He was allowed to keep his passport to use as identification for flying until he obtains a REAL ID, which his lawyer said should happen soon.
A hot hand from outside the three-point arc, Jones once proclaimed himself in an interview with Insidehoops.com as “the best shooter in the world.” He played in every regular season game for three consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2006.
After his playing days, he worked as a “shooting consultant” for the Cavaliers and was an assistant coach when the team, led by James, won the NBA championship in 2016.
In the poker scheme, according to prosecutors, Jones was among former NBA players used to lure unwitting players into poker games that were rigged using altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table.
According to the indictment, Jones was paid $2,500 for a game in the Hamptons where he was instructed to cheat by paying close attention to others involved in the scheme. His instructor likened those people to James and NBA All-Star Stephen Curry, prosecutors said. When in doubt, Jones was told to fold his hand, prosecutors said.
In response, according to prosecutors, Jones texted: “y’all know I know what I’m doing!!”
The poker scheme often made use of illegal poker games run by New York crime families that required them to share a portion of their proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonnano crime families, according to prosecutors.
Members of those families, in turn, also helped commit violent acts, including assault, extortion and robbery, to ensure repayment of debts and the continued success of the operation, officials said in court documents.
