LeBron James must try to carry yet another team to playoff success with Lakers’ Doncic, Reaves out

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James probably thought he was done playing this particular role.

After so many seasons in which James valiantly carried otherwise ordinary teams to extraordinary achievements, the greatest scorer in NBA history was not even the Los Angeles Lakers’ focal point this year. Down the stretch of his first full season alongside Luka Doncic, the 41-year-old James became a supporting player of sorts while Doncic drove the Lakers’ offense and rising star Austin Reaves thrived.

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This dynamic worked superbly while the Lakers made a 16-2 surge through March, winning the Pacific Division and prompting many to wonder if they could even conjure a challenge to Oklahoma City or San Antonio this spring.

And then Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) both went down in the Lakers’ first game of April with significant injuries likely to sideline them for several weeks.

Just like that, James is alone in the spotlight once again this month, the Lakers’ faint postseason hopes resting on a 23-year NBA veteran who has already done it all.

When Los Angeles hosts the Houston Rockets in its playoff opener Saturday night, James will attempt yet another improbable feat in a career full of them: Keeping the Lakers alive long enough for Doncic and Reaves to return.

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“I’ve had to tap back into a role that I’ve been accustomed to in the past, but obviously wasn’t what it was this year,” James said. “Circumstances have put me back in here, and I’m just trying to feed off my teammates (while my) teammates feed off of me. Trying to make things happen for us to continue to stay afloat.”

Indeed, this would be a daunting challenge for almost any player except James. After he racked up 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds while the Lakers beat Golden State last week, he was asked what his team needs from him without its two top scorers.

“Everything,” James said. “So nothing changes for me. Just back to the old ways.”

James has spent the majority of his basketball life lifting up the players around him. Even after he left Cleveland the first time to relieve that burden by forming…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lebron-james-must-try-carry-204127865.html

Author : GREG BEACHAM

Publish date : 2026-04-13 20:41:00

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