LOS ANGELES – After missing 17 games due to a groin injury, three-time NBA champion LeBron James made his return to the basketball floor for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. The team started their long road trip as the away team at the Staples Center against the L.A. Clippers, and their leader didn't disappoint.

With James missing more games due to injury than he ever has in his basketball career, some rust was expected and was seen early in the contest against their division rivals. The perennial All-Star finished with four turnovers in the contest with a few passes being a bit off target, but he made up for them as he came one assist shy of a triple-double.

The Clippers, like most teams in the league, had trouble containing LeBron has he ended up with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists in his return. The superstar forward ultimately led the team to victory in overtime while earning praise from his head coach and teammates.

“He's the greatest player on the planet, so he brings his superpowers,” Chandler said of LeBron.

During the stretch without James on the floor, the Lakers only managed to win six games. LeBron's presence wasn't the only one that was missed with Rajon Rondo (hand) also suffering an injury on Christmas Day and Lonzo Ball going down with an ankle injury recently.

Even Kyle Kuzma has been dealing with a hip issue with forced him to miss the past two games and kept him limited to 23 minutes on Thursday. Needless to say, the Lakers weren't only missing James, but his return resulted in a different kind of energy and a relieved head coach in Luke Walton.

“Since I've coached him, he's the most unselfish player I've ever been around, let alone a superstar that unselfish,” Walton said of the Lakers superstar.

LeBron's 7.2 assists per game were sorely missed by this team, especially with Rondo missing an extended period and Ball out for the next few weeks. James and Rondo combined for 16 assists against the Clippers and left a mark on the younger players on the squad.

“He's just so smart,” Hart said of LeBron. “He's a good veteran player. He gets guys in their spots to get easy buckets. His basketball IQ is just through the roof. When you got guys like that out there, it's amazing.”

Kuzma, who helped shoulder the offensive load for the majority of James' absence, also praised the impact the veteran forward had on the team in his long-awaited return.

“Anytime you play with a player of LeBron's caliber, you're going to have the extra boost in confidence out there,” Kuzma said of James. “I think we saw that tonight.”

Following his triumphant return to the floor on Thursday, James talked about how he feels after his first game in more than a month and what it was like to get back to playing with his teammates rather than being stuck on the sidelines.

“I'm feeling great right now,” James said. “I'm definitely ecstatic about being back out there with my guys and getting a good road win against a team that was climbing in the playoff race. Being out five weeks, I wish I could click my shoes together and be home in my bed right now. It was great to be back out there.”

Ironically enough, the Lakers next game will be on Saturday as they travel back to the place where James was injured on Dec. 25. Los Angeles will go head-to-head against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in a game that will truly test how healthy LeBron is at this point and where the team is at regarding competing with the league's elite.