On Friday, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, semi-fresh off a high ankle sprain, played his first professional basketball game since March 20.

Despite what Lakers (36-27) head coach Frank Vogel described as a “very very disappointing” 110-106 loss to the short-handed Sacramento Kings (26-37) at the Staples Center (dropping L.A. to within one game of the play-in zone), there were positive takeaways from James' first night back.

“I haven’t played in a game in six weeks,” James said post-game. “No contact, no 5-on-5. I’ve been doing a bunch of individual workouts and a lot of running, trying to keep my heart rate going, my conditioning going. For my first game in six weeks, I felt OK. As far as my wind, I felt pretty good.”

Most importantly, LeBron's right ankle — while not in mint condition — seems to be fine.

“My ankle was a little tight at times, obviously just doing different movements, different things that I haven’t done in a game situation in six weeks. I think as the games go on that will continue to improve. But I came out unscathed.”

LeBron looked fleet-footed throughout the game, especially once he took Moe Harkless off-the-dribble in the final moments of the first quarter.

“That play, I was able to push off of my right ankle, going left, and be able to get a good step on a really good defender and then finish at the rim. That was a good step for me mentally.”

In 32 minutes, James finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists, and five turnovers.

He was mostly short on his jumper, and his handle was rustier than anything. He displayed a few recognizable moves.

“I thought he looked great,” Vogel said. “I was very encouraged about how he looked. I actually thought that he would have more of a growth curve in terms of getting his legs back under him.”

At times, James ignited L.A. with invigorated point guard play, including nifty dimes, pushing the tempo, and elite orchestration. In the first half, the Lakers embarked on an 11-0 run solely driven by James' play-making, and his connections with Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell highlighted the Lakers' 32-point third quarter that gave them a 10-point lead entering the 4th.

Shockingly, the Lakers wilted after building a 104-93 lead. In the final two minutes, James nailed his only three, scored a tough lay-in, coughed it up on consecutive possessions, and clanged a potential buzzer-beating triple off the back rim.

Not ideal, but, all things considered, it was a “good start,” per LeBron.

James' extended absence may have seemed like a silver lining unto itself. After all, the 36-year old had been going extremely hard through the first two-thirds of the condensed season, and the injury offered a forced mental vacation.

However, James didn't view it that way, beyond a couple of weeks at home.

“It was horrible, honestly, for me,” he said. “I was more stressful than I’ve ever been. I would say the first couple weeks were pretty good, cause I didn’t travel much as the injury and the swelling was happening… I was able to stay home and be with my family, so that was very rewarding. But as far as watching the games and not being able to play and sitting on the bench and knowing that you can’t make much of a difference, it’s very stressful.”

James, 36, admitted that “getting back to 100 percent is impossible. I don't think I'll ever get back to 100 percent in my career.” That doesn't mean he didn't try.

“You guys could’ve seen the long minutes and hours per day that I was doing as far as rehabbing and treatment. It was a lot more than I slept. So over the last six weeks, that’s all I’ve been doing is having urgency to get back and play.”

Besides a few glimpses of what could be (on both ends), the Lakers were predictably “imperfect”, as Vogel hinted at in his pre-game remarks. The Lakers shot 7-of-28 from downtown and turned it over 21 times.

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Afterward, Vogel repeatedly warned of the “bumpy road” ahead, as the Lakers have to establish cohesion and steer clear of the no. 7 seed before the playoffs.

For one game, at least, without literally any practice time, Vogel was satisfied with his first look at the LBJ/AD1/AD2 front-court.

“I’m very encouraged with what that looked like,” he said. “There was a lot of good sequences with the three of those guys. Rhythm and timing was way off. Them getting used to each other is gonna take time, it's gonna be an adjustment period. Very disappointed in the loss, but encouraged but what those three are gonna look like together.”

There's a long way to go in a short period of time. L.A. will face five playoff teams in a row starting Monday and play four back-to-backs over the final nine games.

“It’s been a hell of a season, obviously. Everything has felt so rushed,” James said. “It’s a game every other day…you can have as many as four, five games in a week. It’s been a long, super-quick season. So, how much can we make out of these 9 games? Not sure…It’s just a different season, not only for us, but for a lot of teams.”

“It is what it is. it is the season, and we gotta make the most of it.”

A return to the court may be as mentally soothing as a Calm sleepcast for James, but not when they lose to a Kings team playing without De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes. Next up: the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

“When we get some wins, I’ll be stress-free,” LeBron said, before heading home for the night.