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LeBron James waited 14 games to make his season debut and wasted no time addressing the narrative that he wouldn’t mesh with the Lakers’ revamped roster.
After Los Angeles’ win over the Utah, James made his stance crystal clear.
“I said it at yesterday’s practice, I can fit in with anybody,” James said, finishing with 11 points and 12 assists in his return. “I don’t even understand why that was even a question. What’s wrong with these people out here? I could fit in right away with anybody. So, just watching the guys, their first 14 games that I missed, the first 14, just watching them and seeing, just, I was just putting myself in position, while I was watching the games of how I can help the team and how I could be successful to help those guys. I still, you know, able to gain a lot of eyes when I’m driving the ball or have the ball, things of that nature. And I had a big fella down there, big five [Deandre Ayton] down there, and my guy Gabe [Vincent], right here obviously, and Jake [LaRavia], our second team, we went out there and, and kind of pushed the lead up, that was good.”
Beyond fit, James also touched on how he physically felt after not playing basketball for seven months.
“Wind was a little shaky to begin,” James said. “Obviously, that was expected. As the game went on and on, my wind got a lot better, caught my second wind and caught my third wind. [My] rhythm is still coming back, obviously first game in quite a while almost seven months, so everything that happened tonight was unexpected. I think the pace versus a team like Utah, who play with a lot of pace, a lot of movement, a lot of cutting and things of that nature, tested us and tested me, obviously. I was happy the way I was able to keep up with the guys.”
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