LeBron James is 36 years old, and with just 71 days between winning his fourth championship in the Orlando bubble and the start of the 2020-21 season, there was overwhelming expectation that his workload would be carefully managed. Still, James hasn’t missed a game this season, and the last three the Lakers have played pushed him to the limit.
The Lakers again worked overtime on Wednesday in a 114-113 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. That was their third consecutive overtime game, a feat they have not matched in nearly three decades. The Lakers worked overtime in their first three games of the 1991-92 season, and just as they needed two extra overtime in the first game of that stretch against the Houston Rockets, they needed two extra overtime to beat the Detroit Pistons in the first match of this piece. However, unlike that 1991 streak, the Lakers managed to win all three of their extra games, including two without Anthony Davis.
The Lakers owe that to LeBron. He has played 130 minutes in the past three games, the highest number he has played in a three-game course as Laker. That is true even for the 2020 postseason, when he never reached the 42 minutes played. He has done that twice in the past two games and almost again on Wednesday. The Lakers let James skip his scheduled post-game media availability due to the number of minutes he played.
The Lakers then play against the Memphis Grizzlies again on Friday. Resting him would be a tricky proposition as the game will air nationally on ESPN. They will play again on ESPN against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday before returning to local cable on Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That would be a wise game to put James to rest, as the Timberwolves have the worst record in the NBA. The following Thursday, the Lakers will play against Brooklyn Nets in one of the most anticipated games of the season, so having James fully rested would help the Lakers use that game as a good benchmark against a potential opponent in the final.
But James didn’t want to skip any games for half time this season. Whether or not he intends to do so remains to be seen. If he does, the choice is more than justified. He’s led his team through three grueling overtime hours in a row, and he’s done without his best teammate in the last two. If anyone deserves a night off, it is him.