Last week, Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said LeBron James was preparing for his 21st NBA season like a “rookie.”

Apparently, it only took two days of training camp for LeBron to resemble his early prime.

“Without question,” Darvin Ham responded when asked if LeBron has his full burst back. “He’s 100 percent healthy. He looks fine. He looks like third or fourth year LeBron.”

LeBron fully tore a tendon in his right foot in February. He anticipated season-ending surgery, but the Lakers' post-deadline renaissance inspired him to return. As productive as he was in the playoffs (24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists), he struggled with his jumper and deferred more than usual.

At Media Day, LeBron sounded optimistic about the healing process (he did not reveal if he had surgery).

“My foot has been reacting very well on my offseason workouts.”

Ham believes the Lakers' improved depth will benefit the soon-t0-be-39 year old.

“He's an elder, wise man … He's very calculated in the way he chooses his spots … Now he has a ton of help. It's only going to allow him to have that burst for longer stretches during the game, during the season. So now, when we get to our destination, he'll be clicking on all cylinders.”

In general, Ham views LeBron as more of a “quarterback” for these Lakers, rather than a dominant scorer.

“He’s going to help us decipher what we need to decipher in terms of strategy and how we attack our opponents. … But this year — we just saw Gabe Vincent in today’s scrimmage with a huge 3-pointer to put his team up one … AD making big plays. DLo making big shots. Austin. … Rui, Christian Wood. There’s help everywhere.

“We want him to be aggressive. But, also, he’s probably the most selfless elite superstar I’ve ever seen. He’s just going to make the right play.”

“He’s been looking good,” added Jarred Vanderbilt. “Energy level, the activity. Him changing ends of the floor. He definitely looks like he has a little bit more bounce and pep to his step. We’re glad to have him back 100 percent.

“He’s still moving like a freight train.”

LeBron will speak to the media on Thursday.

News and notes:

  • Both Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell shouted out Jalen Hood-Schifino on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Ham went as far as to call the rookie the “MVP” of Day 1. Ham said he's encouraging the soft-spoken point guard to be more vocal on the court, joking that he wants Hood-Schifino to practice screaming to himself at home.
  • I asked Hood-Schifino about his experience playing with LeBron so far. He cited James' IQ. “Really just the way he sees the game, how he's always dissecting and breaking everything down.”
  • The starting small forward spot remains unsettled. Hachimura, Vanderbilt, and Taurean Prince all seem to have each gotten run with starters in scrimmages. Vando said he hasn't discussed his role with the coaches.
  • Ham has been impressed by Hachimura's effort to “diversify” his all-around game. “He really wants to go to a different level defensively.”
  • Yesterday, Reaves joined his head coach, LeBron, and Anthony Davis in expressing at least mild annoyance over the Denver Nuggets' trolling last spring — and his excitement about a rematch on Ring Night in Denver. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone weighed in on Wednesday. “Oh, they're talking about us? That was what, four months ago?… If they're still worried about us, that's on them … If we're on their minds, then I guess that's on them.”

For the record, I am in favor of making Game 1 of 82 as spicy as possible.