Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James had the Drew League buzzing on Saturday, teaming up with DeMar DeRozan for an epic show. LeBron put forth a number of highlight-reel plays en route to 42 points in a surprisingly close victory.
While The King struggled with his 3-point shot, he looked to be in great shape and healthy. LeBron said as much during the first half, telling ESPN's Dave McMenamin he's “100 percent healthy.”
Lakers fans will be glad to hear that as James prepares for Year 20 at 37 years old. LeBron did deal with some injury problems this past season, missing 26 games as Los Angeles didn't even make the play-in tournament. He only played in 45 games the season before that as the Lakers failed to defend their 2020 title.
The Lakers will obviously need LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be healthy in 2022-23 in order to bounce back from the disappointing 2021-22 campaign. It also remains to be seen what happens with Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving. There's still a belief among many that Irving will wind up in Hollywood to team up with LeBron once again, which would mean Westbrook getting dealt somewhere else.
Irving was actually expected to show up to the Drew League as well, but that didn't happen. There's still some hope Kyrie will show this weekend. Video soon surfaced of Irving at Lakers assistant Phil Handy's girl's basketball camp.
While Irving's no-show diminished some of the hype of the day, seeing LeBron James make his Drew League return (he hadn't played there since the lockout in 2011) was a treat in its own right, especially now that he's back to full health.
Follow Us
Subscribe