Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is carrying a heavy burden right now, and it demands his full attention.
Speaking in a recent video for Yahoo Sports, LeBron’s former teammate JR Smith revealed plans to link up in Dallas for a friendly game of golf. All was on track to proceed as normal until the Lakers suffered a catastrophic blow in the form of injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. According to Smith, LeBron canceled the match after those developments, and for good reason.
“It’s funny because he texted the group chat, because it was in Dallas when he was playing, and we were supposed to play golf,” said Smith. “He’s like, ‘Man, I can’t play golf, I got too much on my shoulders right now. If this were five years ago, I would definitely play.’ But it’s tough, man. It’s always next man up mentality, so I’m excited to see who can possibly step up for them.”
JR isn’t in the league anymore, but he still keeps in touch with King James. The two played for years together in Cleveland and won a championship in 2016 over the 73-win Warriors. We don’t know the full extent of their relationship these days, but it’s common knowledge that LeBron keeps group chats with old championship teammates, and it seems he also frequently faces them on the golf course.
Over the years, and throughout this season in particular, LeBron has been playing golf more and more, and it’s become one of his favorite pastimes. Besides providing another way to win and compete, the sport allows LeBron to build up friendships and maintain relationships. It also gives him plenty of memorable encounters, like the gator he saw at a course in Miami.
But now, with LeBron having to carry the Lakers for the rest of the season, he’s putting his clubs away for now. At 41-years-old, he was already taking the cautious approach with his workload, and it left little room for distractions. So to carry a shorthanded Lakers team through the playoffs, he can ill afford to be playing golf right now. He’s going to need all of the energy, focus, and effort he can muster just to keep his team alive, and that might still not be enough.
This season, with so much at stake, LeBron is leaving nothing to chance. With averages of 20.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game on 51.2% shooting from the field and 30.9% shooting from three, he was already playing elite basketball. Of course, we can expect him to elevate his play now as the last remaining star left on the roster.
Ultimately, only time will tell how far LeBron is able to lead this group, but this is not how things were supposed to go. LeBron was thriving in a supporting role behind Doncic and Reaves, and was rumored to be considering retirement this summer as an unrestricted free agent. Now, he’s tasked with taking this Lakers team as far as they can go without another co-star to help even the odds. At the very least, James is locked in and dedicated to the mission, and that’s enough to give some fans hope in a miracle.
