LeBron James, Lakers
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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the first half of their game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
It’s hard to find fault with a player averaging 21.7 points and 7.1 assists while shooting 50%, especially in his 23rd year, yet several advanced metrics suggest LeBron James has been a net negative for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
The 41-year-old James is a -44 on the floor in 38 games thus far, the second worst plus/minus among all starters, closely followed by Deandre Ayton’s -48.
Even more concerning is that Lakers lineups featuring the Big 3 of James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves have not yielded good results, with the team outscored by 9.7 points per 100 possessions. Furthermore, the Lakers seem to excel when only Doncic and Reaves are on the floor, surrounded by three other players not named James.
Lineups (With) Net Rating
James/LeBron/Reaves -9.7
Doncic/Reaves With James Off +19.3
James/Doncic With Reaves Off -3.9
James/Reaves With Doncic Off -4.2
Doncic With James/Reaves Off +4.9
The Lakers’ best five-man combo this season has been Doncic, Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura and Ayton, who’ve outscored opponents by 33 points in 11 games together. As for the team’s best five-man lineup with James, the unit of “The King,” Smart, Jake LaRavia, Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes has a net rating of +7.2.
Lakers lineups with James, Reaves and Doncic
HeavyLakers lineups with James, Reaves and Doncic
Should LeBron Come Off the Bench?
It’s not surprising that James has fared better in lineups without Reaves and Doncic, given that all three players are offensively skewed and viewed as defensive liabilities. However, the issue persists on both ends of the floor—not just on defense.
Amazingly, the Lakers have an offensive rating of only 107.7 when James, Reaves, and Doncic play together, with a subpar AST/TO ratio of 1.78. These numbers look even worse due to their collective defensive rating of 117.4. For context, the Lakers’ overall offensive rating of 116.0 is 8.3 points higher than when James, Doncic and Reaves play.
If the trend persists, Lakers head coach JJ Redick may have to take the drastic step of bringing James off the bench, so the NBA all-time leading scorer could not only run the second unit but also ensure there’s no drop-off when Doncic and/or Reaves check out.
Lakers Big 3: A Mediocre Unit
To that end, Lakers insiders like Jovan Buha and Jason Timpf have already made the case for James to come off the bench.
“The Lakers are 8-4 when their Big 3 play, but the four best teams they’ve played in that stretch are Spurs, Suns, Rockets and now Celtics. They lost all four games by double digits,” Buha said on his podcast, making a case for Redick to bench James.
“…You could argue that having the Big 3 has actually been a big thing for the Lakers, factoring in how those lineups have performed up to this season.”
The Volume’s Timpf highlighted worrying Lakers trends against elite teams.
“When the Lakers play teams in the bottom 10 in points differential, they are 18-2, which is tied with Oklahoma City for the best in the league,” he said on his podcast.
“That means they are 16-20 against the rest of the league. So, they’re below .500 against anybody that’s not in the bottom third of the NBA.”
Another alarming statistic: the Lakers are being outscored by 13.0 points by teams in the top 10 in points differential, which ranks 28th in the league.
Vs. Bottom 10 Teams Vs. Middle 10 Teams Vs. Top 10 Teams
Record: 18-2 Record: 11-9 Record: 5-11
Pts Differential: +11 Pts Differential: -3 Pts Differential: -13
Jovan Buha
The Lakers have yet to be competitive with the Big 3 — let alone win — against the best teams this season