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LeBron James is returning for his 21st season in the league at 38 years of age after averaging 28.9 points per game with the Lakers last season.
But it has been reported by Spectrum SportsNet's Mike Trudell that the Lakers star will not participate in the team's preseason opener on Sunday.
The LA Lakers' are scheduled for a Sunday matchup against the Golden State Warriors. Lakers coach Darvin Ham assured fans, however, that James has been in great shape and has "played more than the rest of our roster combined (excluding Anthony Davis)."
Be that as it may, the report garnered a number of reactions from NBA fans, who mocked and criticized the Lakers star for missing the preseason opener.
"LeBron ducking," one post read.
From the fan reactions, the fans were heavily mocking and criticizing LeBron James for his decision to sit out on the team's first preseason game. An NBA fan also pointed out that taking preseason games seriously translates to the regular season and even compared to the downfall of the 2020-21 season.
LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham talks about LeBron James
With LeBron James out of the Lakers' 2023 preseason opener, Lakers coach Darvin Ham talked about how the 19-time All-Star has looked like he hasn't missed a step, according to Lakers Nation's Ron Gutterman.
"Oh, yeah. Without question," Ham said. "And he's able to pick his spots now. He's an elder, wise man on the court. He's very calculated in the way he chooses his spots to do that and to show that. And now he has a ton of help. It's only gonna make him and allow him to play and have that burst for longer stretches during games, during the season.
"So, now, when we get to our destination, he'll be clicking on all cylinders. He's 100% healthy. He looks fine. He looks like third- or fourth-year Lebron. He's gonna quarterback. He's going to help us decipher what we need to decipher in terms of strategy and how we attack our opponents. The same as he did last year."
After bolstering the roster with key moves in the offseason, Ham sounds confident in how his team will look entering the new regular season.
Compared to the lackluster roster and disappointing start to the previous season, the 2023-24 season for the Lakers looks to be a promising one.
The team is deeper now and still has LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the main leaders of the unit. Despite James' absence in the team's preseason game against the Warriors, Ham's description of how he has looked in team practice is more than enough to keep Lakers fans excited.
