New era dawns for NBA with LeBron now a Laker
When the NBA season begins on Tuesday, it will mark the first time in more than a decade that LeBron James won’t play on opening night. For the first time in his 15-year career, he also won’t play for an Eastern Conference team.
Those firsts show how much James’ decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers shook up the league. And though it might take time to get accustomed to seeing the league’s best player in purple and gold, the team’s coach had an understandably different reaction.
“It’s awesome,” Luke Walton said last week.
Walton and the Lakers aren’t alone in that feeling. To those interested in the NBA’s health, the sight of James playing for the league’s flagship franchise — a team whose presence lifts all boats around It’s a different look with LeBron James wearing the purple and gold in Los Angeles with the NBA’s marquee franchise. The Lakers open on Thursday at Portland. it — should be comforting. Meanwhile, half the teams in the league are excited to have him out west.
The East’s top teams finally can see daylight in a conference that James has reigned over since creating a superpower in Miami eight years ago. Two of them, Boston and Philadelphia, revisit their decades-old rivalry on opening night.
The Celtics’ roster is teeming with young, athletic players, a gifted scorer in Kyrie Irving, a versatile big man in Al Horford and a top coach in Brad Stevens. Philadelphia, meanwhile, has what could be the league’s best 1-2 punch in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Still, it’s far from certain that one of these ancient rivals will represent the East in the NBA Finals next June. Toronto lurks in the shadows, with Kawhi Leonard joining a roster that might exceed Boston’s in length and depth.
The Raptors’ quest this season will be twofold: to finally reach the East’s summit now that their annual bogeyman, James, is gone, and also convince Leonard to remain in Toronto once he hits free agency next July.
As for James, the debate isn’t whether he can carry his team to a ninth straight NBA Finals appearance but whether he can get the Lakers into the playoffs at all.
What’s not in doubt is that the Lakers are relevant for the first time in years.
With James surrounded by talents such as Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma — plus mercurial veterans in Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee — the Lakers may be good or not, but they will be entertaining.
“I think it’s great for the league to see LeBron in a Laker uniform,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “That was my team growing up. They’ve always had a lot of star power.”
James’ arrival even has overshadowed the Warriors, who are trying to become the first team since the mid-1960s to qualify for five straight Finals, and only the fifth franchise in NBA history to win three straight. Golden State will face many challengers.
Last season, Houston nearly eliminated the Warriors in the Western Conference finals, then lost key forwards Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency, replacing them with Carmelo Anthony and James Ennis. The Rockets will have to prove they can stop the Warriors.
Utah will look to show its blistering 29-6 finish last season wasn’t a mirage, and that second-year guard Donovan Mitchell can lead the Jazz deep into the playoffs.
Beyond that, a glut of teams will try to simply make the postseason in the cutthroat West. Golden State’s opponent Tuesday, Oklahoma City, is one such team. Other contenders include Minnesota, Denver, San Antonio, Portland, New Orleans and the LA Clippers — and the Lakers.
As always, all eyes will be on James. Just not on opening night. That officially makes Tuesday a new day for the NBA.