LeBron James made his season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday evening. When he stepped on the floor for the first time since April, there were some questions about how well he would fit with a team that's been dominating without him. But LeBron proceeded to give fans [exactly what they were hoping for](https://lakeshowlife.com/one-game-all-lebron-james-needed-to-eviscerate-lakers-skeptics) in making unselfish plays all night long.
There weren't many scenarios in which James was truly going to come in and "ruin" what was happening in Los Angeles. But some wondered how much he might try to hunt his own shot versus playing purely team basketball and contributing toward helping the winning continue. The latter was what we saw LeBron do against the Utah Jazz in his return.
Number 23 finished the contest on Tuesday with 11 points, three rebounds and 12 assists, making four of his seven shot attempts from the floor. He focused heavily on passing the ball all night, fitting exactly what the Lakers need from him right now.
LeBron's debut featured plenty of unselfish play
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We all know that LeBron's basketball IQ is off the charts. He knows that what his team needs from him right now is to fit in as seamlessly with what they've got going on as he can. He was never going to come out against the Jazz and put up 25 shot attempts, and Lakers fans were thrilled to see him embrace his best role right away.
LA has all the star power they need in Luka Doncic. But what they could still use a little bit more of is veteran leadership and [the type of stabilizing presence](https://lakeshowlife.com/stunning-lebron-james-reality-everyone-somehow-forgetting-right-now) that comes from a man playing his 23rd professional season. LeBron showed plenty of his usual poise, and that bled over into how the team operated.
It's fair to assume that James won't be averaging 11 points per game for the entire season. But although his scoring will undoubtedly pick up, he's going to continue playmaking it a high level and bringing infectious poise to a group that features a lot of younger players.
In short, this was close to the best return Lakers fans could have hoped for from LeBron. James' career might be winding down, but he can absolutely still provide a winning impact for a team that has its sights set on a championship. By choosing to play in this role and sacrifice just a bit for the good of the team, LeBron is helping the Lakers strengthen the identity they’ve been building without him.