The King Takes Court As Laker For First Time
San Diego may not have the same flare as Los Angeles, but it hosted royalty in the form of King James on Sunday night.
LeBron James made his Los Angeles Lakers debut on Sunday night vs the Denver Nuggets at the Valley View Casino Center.
Taking the court for the first time in his NBA career in a Lakers uniform, James made the most of his preseason exhibition.
The three-time NBA MVP was up to his usual old tricks. He got the night going with a nice no-look pass to Brandon Ingram for a dunk moments into the game.
James pulled up for a 3-pointer near the top of the key over Denver Nuggets’ guard Gary Harris as he buried his first 3-pointer less than two minutes into the contest.
For the most part, the 33 year-old veteran spent a large portion of his night trying to get a understanding and feel for his new teammates.
That’s something of upmost important to James when playing with a cast of new players. Picking up on tendencies and habits from his teammates which better prepare James to make the needed adjustments on the fly.
James finished the game with 9 points (2-for-6 FG), 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 15 minutes. He would not play in the second half.
James signed a four year/$154 million with the Los Angeles Lakers back in July as a free agent. It was greatly rumored well before the start of last season that the King had his eyes set on Hollywood, even buying a mansion in Los Angeles during the 2017-18 season which served as somewhat of a prelude.
This is the third team in LeBron James’ NBA career as he has spent his NBA career playing for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
By signing LeBron James the Los Angeles Lakers immediately made themselves a playoff contender at the very least with four years likely designed around adding more star free agents.
James is enjoying what he’s seen from his teammates, particularly the ones in the starting five that are made up of inexperienced but talented young players.
In a interview following practice LeBron James said he was impressed with what he’s seen out of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, describing them all as players having a hunger to get better each day.
The Los Angeles Lakers talent is real, but so are their many flaws that should test LeBron James who will begin this most intriguing journey out West.
James and the Lakers will use their five remaining preseason games as well as two more weeks during training camp to prepare for the 82-game journey that awaits them.
The Los Angeles Lakers open their season on the road vs the Portland Trail Blazers on October 18th.
What are your thoughts on the Los Angeles Lakers preseason game vs the Denver Nuggets? Leave your comments below!
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