LOS ANGELES — JJ Redick called play after play for LeBron James.
“I was joking with him (LeBron) afterwards,” Redick said after the Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls 142-130 on Thursday. “I’m like, ‘The first four times I ran a play for you, you didn’t even look at the basket.’
James responded, per his coach: “I’m trying to get the feel for it.”
Maybe five years earlier that would have been the telltale sign for James to take over, turn what was otherwise a close game against the Bulls on its head, internalize the mode of dominance that fans, players and coach alike expect from the NBA’s all-time leading scorer into results on the hardwood. But that’s not what the Lakers (41-25) need from James in March 2026, and on Thursday night, “The King” took a back seat in scoring production.
James, who ultimately recorded 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block in his return from a three-game stint out due to a handful of injuries (his elbow, hip and foot), didn’t attempt a shot until the second quarter and didn’t make a shot until there were 54 seconds remaining in the first half.
Intentional or unintentional, James played as the third star on the court – behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves – on Thursday, setting screens, jabbing steals and making loose-ball plays to save otherwise lost possessions, filling in for a variety of injured Lakers: Marcus Smart, Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber.
James recognized what Redick called “sacrifice” as a necessity for the team to win, a fourth consecutive victory and seventh win of their last eight games.
“You can build habits, you can build chemistry, you can build a way how you want to play when it comes to the postseason,” James said. “Every game matters, and the way that you approach the game matters and the details of approaching every night.”
Doncic scored 51 points, with nine rebounds and eight assists, while Reaves notched 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a secondary scoring role. James tied with Deandre Ayton for the third-most shots on the team with 13 attempts from the field
“I’m able to adapt to whatever needs for the team,” James said. “Allow AR and Luka to continue on the things that they’ve been doing. Obviously with ball handling, scoring, pick-and-roll play. And then just trying to help with the glass, continue – I mean, I’m always going to pass the ball, so I’m not worried about that. And just be a little bit more active.”
Earlier this week, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said that when the Lakers play without James – tallying a 10-2 record when just Reaves and Doncic play – it activates the Lakers other pair of star guards. Finch saw the reality of that a few hours later on Tuesday as Doncic and Reaves matched one another with 31 points apiece as the Lakers handled the Timberwolves with ease.
“They become exponentially more dangerous,” Finch said. “They’ve been pretty good when two of those three guys have been out because of just the usage puzzle.”
The usage puzzle simply states that the Lakers haven’t been able to get all three of their stars producing when on the court together, across just 19 games playing together this season, they’ve played to a 1.2 plus-minus rating on the floor across 17.7 minutes per game. Doncic and Reaves produce a 4.5 in the plus-minus when playing together.
James made it clear Thursday night that while the 41-year-old star knows what he can still do as an individual, adapting his game in order to win now and into the playoffs is at the top of his mind.
It wasn’t too long ago when James called Reaves a star; his fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality of which his younger teammate called his “delusional confidence.” But potentially, in order for the Lakers to win, overcoming the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in hypothetical postseason series, it could be time for Reaves to embrace the star that James said he is.
And it could be time for James, in the last year of his contract with the Lakers, to move into the background at times. James knows what he can offer on any given night, but he may have to play true to a role as the team’s third scorer behind Doncic and Reaves.
However Redick assembles the jigsaw puzzle of who gets the ball and when, Reaves glowed over the Lakers elder statesman’s willingness to do what’s asked of him – a lesson for his peers in the locker room.
“He’s one of the smartest guys to ever play the game of basketball,” Reaves said. “His ability to adapt and to figure out what the game needs is second to none.”
Reaves continued: “When you’ve got a player of that stature who’s willing to play the way the game needs him to play, it just shows how selfless he is. And he’s a leader by example for everybody in this locker room.”