LeBron James doesn’t need confidence.
Head coach JJ Redick made that (admittedly obvious) statement clear after Sunday’s game against the Sixers. Those remarks came moments after a “vintage LeBron” performance, as Luka Dončić described it, in which he hit multiple big shots down the stretch to seal a Lakers win.
That display of shot-making was proof positive of that confidence. While it’s been on display through essentially his whole career, it hadn’t yet been present this season. For Redick, that reminder
is what made Sunday’s game notable.
“I do think it’s important to be reminded every now and then of what you’re capable of,” Redick said. “For him to have the injuries and then to sort of start the season playing catch-up, in a way, and start the season playing catch-up with a team that is also in a really good rhythm. As a player, I don’t care how good you are, that’s tough to figure out so tonight was super important.”
As much as LeBron has experienced in his career, joining a team after missing the beginning of the season is not something he is familiar with. As a result, it’s been a mixed bag of results, at best, from LeBron amid his integration.
At last on Sunday, LeBron looked like his old self once again and it couldn’t have come at a better time as Austin Reaves had an uncharacteristic off night.
“It was awesome,” Reaves said. “Thank God for him. He was really good tonight…He’s done that so many times, too. Once you see that, once you see him get a couple threes to fall, I think I got a rebound and I was like, ‘Please take the ball. It’s definitely your time. Go get us a win.’”
“I felt like the opportunity kind of presented itself in a way that if I felt like my two heavy hitters kind of didn’t have it or needed a kick, I could punch in from there,” LeBron added.
Only time and future games will tell if Sunday was a turning point or a flash in the pan. At the very least, it was necessary contribution from LeBron and a nice reminder for him, the team and fans of what he’s still capable of.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
