Lakers Starting Lineup: LeBron James Assigned a New Role in Darvin Ham’s Latest Attempt at Solving Troubles

The Los Angeles Lakers have faced a humiliating fate in the past 2 weeks in the league. The In-Season Tournament win may have served as a highlight in their season, but the Los Angeles-based franchise has not enjoyed such success since their return from Las Vegas. And so, their Head Coach, Darvin Ham, has turned to their veteran leader, LeBron James, to save them.

Along with Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, 38-year-old LeBron James has played some impressive basketball in an otherwise underwhelming roster performance. Witnessing this downfall, Ham has moved The King to an all new position, making a huge change in the starting lineup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

LeBron James gets a new role

With a record 0f 1-5 since the IST glory, there is no doubt the Lakers are struggling. However, one of their biggest stars, D’Angelo Russell, has faced an extremely tough stretch of games since the NBA Cup. Averaging a mere 9 PPG throughout December, the former All-Star has not lived up to his mark. Hence, Ham has pushed the 27-year-old to the bench, making LeBron James the Lakers’ new point guard.

James has often shown his versatility, proving that he is capable of playing all 5 positions on the court. However, it is extremely uncanny to see a 6’9 player take the role of a point guard. Ham seems unbothered by this uncanny move, entrusting the 4x MVP to be the floor general. Russell, on the other hand, will have the responsibility to lead the second unit that also features 24-year-old Austin Reaves.

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Russell’s role will now be limited, considering James’ heavy usage during Lakers’ struggles. However, he will have a chance to earn back his starting position in the limited minutes he gets.

The King as a starting point guard over the years

LeBron James’ elite versatility has allowed him to take up any responsibility that the coach hands him over the years. Hence, starting as a point guard is nothing new for The 19x All-Star. In fact, he previously played almost a whole season as a starting point guard.

James, a traditional small forward, started almost an entire season as a point guard for the Lakers back in 2020-21. The defending champions back in 2020 entered the season without a point guard. Although Dennis Schroder took over the role later, James needed to step up and play floor general during his absence and The Chosen One did not disappoint. After averaging 25 PPG and 10 APG in the previous season which also prompted an MVP run, James took over the point guard role and averaged 25.1 PPG, 7.1 APG and 7.9 RPG.

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With James’ versatility, it is easy to think that he can handle the point guard role efficiently. However, Russell has now joined Russell Westbrook as the second star point guard who ended up on the Lakers’ bench. The 27-year-old ex-All Star will have to prove his worth to earn back his spot alongside James in the starting lineup.