LeBron James is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he made his mark on the franchise during his eight years with it. He consistently played at a high level during that time, even if certain aspects of his game had clearly slipped, and he delivered an NBA championship in 2020.
As we take a look at James' greatest performances as a member of the Lakers in chronological order, we go back to a point in the 2022-23 season where he had to carry a heavy load for a period of time.
Keeping the Lakers afloat while short-handed
The Lakers had something to prove coming into the 2022-23 season. The previous season, they had failed to reach the play-in tournament after trading for Russell Westbrook. Now, as they looked to jettison the former league MVP, they were struggling to get to .500.
Superstar big man Anthony Davis went down with a foot injury in December, and soon afterward, James found himself playing on a foot ailment of his own. In the Lakers' last game of December, he took it upon himself to make sure they would get in the win column.
While playing the fourth game of a five-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks, James got off to a slow start, but he scored 16 points in the second quarter as L.A. started to work its way back from a 57-42 deficit. He continued to pour it on in the second half, and by finishing with 47 points on 18-of-27 overall shooting and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, he got his team a 130-121 win.
James had another 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers hold off the pesky Hawks.
That victory started a five-game winning streak for the Lakers. Things finally turned around for them in February when they traded Westbrook, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson and a 2027 first-round draft pick in a three-team deal that brought them D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.
They went 18-9 the rest of the way in the regular season and reached the Western Conference finals. For at least the rest of that campaign, James felt he didn't have to carry quite as large a load.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James' greatest games with the Lakers: A big outing in the ATL
