In his five years with the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James has consistently played at his usual high level, but he has apparently become injury-prone.
The once incredibly durable superstar has appeared in over 56 games just once since joining the team, and many have grown increasingly concerned over the high number of minutes he has played. He averaged 35.5 minutes a game last season and 37.2 minutes a game the year prior, and he logged 37.8 minutes per contest in January 2023, an insane number for a 38-year-old.
Buy Lakers TicketsFortunately, the team reportedly will be more careful with James’ minutes and workload (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via The Athletic:
“James’ health is the most important factor in the Lakers’ championship aspirations. He has missed 111 games due to injury in his five seasons with the Lakers after missing just 71 games over his first 15 seasons in the league.
“The Lakers are planning to manage James’ minutes and offensive workload more than in years past, and Pelinka cited the team’s depth as a way to do that. Ham said the franchise is aiming to be more efficient with James’ ‘game-to-game minutes, the big picture, month-to-month, different sections in the calendar.'”
At this time last year, Los Angeles had virtually no depth at either forward position behind James. But now, it has Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish. In addition, the team has Christian Wood, who is expected to log most of his minutes at the 5 but can also fill in at the power forward spot, which is James’ main position these days.
In addition, with adept scoring and facilitating guards in D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, James will have the most stacked roster he has enjoyed in years. It should all result in fewer minutes, less usage and, hopefully, better health for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
