LeBron James’ offensive struggles on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers have been a big talking point over the last week or so. James has played well below expectations on offense, but he might be doing even worse on the other end. A video has gone viral on social media that shows James was giving minimal effort on defense during the Lakers’ 127-100 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 26.
James was just standing or slow-walking in those clips. No one expects a 39-year-old in his 21st season in the NBA to be a lockdown defender, but you’d want to see a bit more effort from him.
In November, a clip went viral of James not hustling back on defense after a turnover against the Denver Nuggets. His not putting effort on that end of the floor is becoming a more and more common sight at this point.
Of the 42 players averaging at least 34 minutes per game in the NBA in 2024-25, James ranks 41st in distance covered per game at 12,254.5 feet. The only one below him is James Harden, who is at 11,452.5 feet per game.
James’ low placement on that list shows he isn’t running around much on offense either. He is playing off the ball more under new Lakers head coach JJ Redick, with his 27.7% usage rate this season being the second-lowest of his career, but there hasn’t been a lot of movement on his part when he doesn’t have the ball.
While James’ lack of effort hasn’t hurt the Lakers a lot offensively, it has played a part in their defensive struggles. Their defensive rating of 116.7 ranks 24th in the NBA and that’s not good enough. Teams with mediocre defenses almost never win titles and the Lakers have a long way to go before their defense is even considered mediocre.
Change of some sort is certainly needed. I don’t see James putting in any more effort moving forward, though, so the Lakers will need to look at bringing in some top-level defenders to fix their woes on that end of the floor.
JJ Redick Doesn’t Think It Would Be A Good Idea For LeBron James To Play All 82 Games
At the start of the season, James had stated that his goal was to play every single game. Considering his recent struggles, though, some have suggested it might not be a good idea and Redick also stated he doesn’t want LeBron to play all 82 games.
“We are measuring the players and we can tell when a guy is running hot. He does a remarkable job of taking care of his body and recovering, but I don’t know if it’s in the best interests of him or us if he does that. But if he’s feeling well and good, he should play. But obviously, we want to manage that the best we can.”
James is averaging 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25. The 20-time All-Star has looked like a shell of his former self at times and the occasional day off might well help him out.
The 12-9 Lakers take on the Miami Heat next at Kaseya Center on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET and James should feature in that one. Both teams come into that contest on the back of defeats and would be keen to return to winning ways.
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