LeBron James played his first game on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz. He missed the first 14 games of the 2025-26 NBA season for the Los Angeles Lakers due to a sciatica injury. Against the Jazz, James wasn’t aggressive in scoring, but he still secured a double-double of 10 points and 12 assists. Following the contest, former Lakers center Kwame Brown accused the four-time champion of playing it safe.
James’ low-scoring season debut wasn’t because he missed a lot of shots. He just didn’t shoot as much and allowed Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to take over. Doncic led the team to a 140-126 win with his 37 points. Reaves added 26 points and five rebounds.
According to Brown, James’ passiveness was his being safe under the spotlight. The former No. 1 pick also said that the Lakers star was more focused on his stats, which is how he got the double-double.
“Right now, he’s got a lot of eyes watching him,” Brown said. “So, of course, he’s not going out there to shoot the ball. It still looked like he was playing for stats. He’s playing to get assists and get his 10 points.
Kwame Brown says LeBron James was playing for his stats last night pic.twitter.com/UaAwIRbCQb
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2025
However, given that LeBron James just recovered from an injury, it was expected that he wouldn’t perform to his usual standards. James even expressed satisfaction with his performance.
LeBron James was happy he was able to keep up with the Jazz
LeBron James hadn’t played basketball for some time, as he missed the Lakers’ training camp and preseason games. While his final numbers weren’t eye-popping, it still helped the team win. He discussed his feelings about his performance after the game.
“Wind was a little shaky to begin,” James said. “Obviously that was expected, but as the game went on and on, my wind got a lot better. I caught my second wind, caught my third wind. Rhythm is still coming back, obviously. First game in almost seven months. Everything that happened tonight was as expected.
“I think the pace versus a team like Utah, who play with a lot of pace, a lot of movement, a lot of cutting and things of that nature, tested us, tested me, obviously. I was happy the way I was able to keep up with the guys.”
Even head coach JJ Redick said that he thought James played great. Redick highlighted the passing game that the future Hall of Famer displayed and called him a “willing passer.” The head coach was glad that the Lakers’ star was back in the lineup.
Last night, James also made history by being the only player to play in 23 NBA seasons.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
