LeBron James making his season debut against the Jazz meant it was also the first time he’d play alongside the team’s starting center Deandre Ayton in an NBA game.
The pairing found a rhythm quickly. Half of LeBron’s eight passes to Ayton resulted in Deandre scoring. The biggest highlight between the duo was an alley-oop midway through the second quarter of the team’s 140-126 win over Utah.
After the game, Ayton revealed that while that was the first professional alley-oop between him and LeBron, they
actually connected on a lob before.
The other time? When Ayton was in eighth grade, attending LeBron’s summer basketball camp.
It’s mind-boggling that LeBron has been around for so long that not only is his teammate someone who attended one of his camps, but they both now start for the Lakers and James is still an All-NBA-caliber player.
With the vibes in Los Angeles being at an all-time high, Ayton was cheerfully reminiscing and telling this story. But even in the moment, Ayton was just as excited that LeBron threw him an alley-oop and that he was able to finish it.
In a feature written by Franklyn Calle for Slam Magazine, Ayton discussed his basketball journey and detailed his very first connection with LeBron.
“LeBron threw me that alley-oop in front of those NBA scouts,” Ayton recalls excitedly. “He threw it pretty high and so I went up there and got it. I said, I’m catching this one. He mushed me a little bit, a little pound on the head. I felt super hype. I didn’t want to show too much. I kept it in until I got back to the hotel room to start shouting.”
Here we are over a decade later, and Ayton is still pumped about catching lobs from LeBron as he begins his historic 23rd NBA season.
If things continue to go well, this will be just the first of many easy buckets Ayton will have this season, thanks to LeBron. And Tuesday’s game was just a glimpse into how good the Lakers can be this year.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
