No player in league history has made it to the first day of training camp in their 23rd season, which LeBron did on Tuesday. However, he and the Lakers are focused on the end of the season, not the beginning.
LeBron did not participate in the first practice of the season on Tuesday. Officially, he was out with nerve irritation in his glute — go ahead and fire off your favorite joke — but it doesn’t sound like he or the Lakers had many ideas of him practicing even coming into the year.
“Obviously, in year 23, uncharted territory here,” head coach JJ Redick said after practice. “I felt…he probably did too much last year in camp, which was great for me as a first-year head coach to get buy-in from him. But it’ll be a slower process with him leading into the first game. He’s obviously got 22 years, so far, of wear and tear on the body and still has a little bit of nerve irritation in the glute. We’re playing the long game with LeBron.”
Redick also noted that this was a mutual decision and that he’s “on board” with this plan, in case there was any doubt. He also said that it “would be nice” to have LeBron play a preseason game, the goal was to have him ready for Opening Night.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN provided a bit more insight into the matter, saying LeBron’s camp spoke to the Lakers about being “overly cautious” this season.
Realistically, this is long overdue for LeBron. In recent years, he’s come into the season either off an Olympics run or ready to help a new coach implement a system and just about every time, he’s broken down at some point relatively early in the year or needed to take a couple weeks off.
This year, the Lakers are being more proactive about things and bringing him along much more slowly. Preseason games are inconsequential for someone like LeBron and the team has enough familiarity playing with him that it won’t be a challenge to integrate him. He’s still at camp and enough of a participant that everyone will know what to expect.
If the Lakers want to have any realistic chance at competing for a title in the spring, they need LeBron at 100%. He has not been at that level in recent years and it’s lowered their ceiling as a team.
That the team is taking this approach out of the gate might also be a signal of them also being more proactive in resting him during the season. Again, in year 23, the goal needs to be having LeBron playing his best in April, May and June. If that means sacrificing a couple games in November, December and January, so be it.
This is the benefit of having a player like Luka Dončić who can carry the load now. The Lakers should be taking advantage of this by taking more off LeBron’s plate and asking Luka — and Austin Reaves — to shoulder more of the load.
At least early in the season, this is an encouraging sign of how the team will help keep LeBron fresh this year.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
