LeBron James in his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers and his 17th in the NBA will have his first season averaging double digit assists with a revamped offense.
LeBron James will be beginning his 17th season in the NBA and second with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2019-20 season. This might be the most deep team that he has been apart of, as Rob Pelinka redeemed himself as a general manager, when many doubted his abilities in that position.
When James played for the Heat, the team maxed out their cap on their big three of Bosh, James and Wade and then filled their roster out with guys that were seeking a title late in their careers. So, their depth was very minimal and it showed when they went head-to-head with the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, as each of their teams with depth wore the Heat out.
The Cleveland Cavaliers teams pre-Miami era never had any depth at all as the Cavaliers did not properly build around James from day one. The teams with Kyrie Irving had more depth but still with Love, Irving and James bloating their cap, they had to seek out a lot of veteran minimum players.
With that being said, James with more ball-handling duties and more consistent shooters and scorers, should see his assist total move up and could put him into the double digit assist total average each night. James averaged 8.7 and 9.1 assists per night in his last two years with the Cavaliers and 8.3 assists last year with the Lakers.
The 9.1 assists per night was a career high in 2017-18, and his usage rate was 31%, he should stay around that number but his assists will go up because when you pass to Anthony Davis, Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma that beats Kevin Love, Jeff Green and George Hill.
James will have the first season of his career averaging 10 assists per night, as his elite court vision and plethora of scoring options will be a huge asset. With Davis also on the roster now, James won’t have to carry as much of the load on the offensive end in terms of scoring. That will conserve energy as well. Also, it’s very likely Davis finishes with more points per game average.
This will over the season help the team, as it will leave defenses confused night to night, not knowing what to expect. James is capable of dishing out 15 assists, or having his occasional 40 point night. The versatility to do both, will catapult the Lakers into the top offense in basketball conversation.
Many coaches around the NBA have spoke highly on James vision and ability to read the defense. As displayed here Scott Brooks touched on what James provides in terms of passing and the NBA hasn’t seen someone as talented in terms of this since Magic Johnson. It truly is amazing watching James passes and how he plays with so many sets of eyes, as he sees things a lot of players don’t.
Putting a number on what to expect, one could say that James points per game drops down to 22, but he will average 10.5 assists per night putting him towards the top of the league. His 109.6 offensive rating will also go up a lot higher to his usual numbers around 114.
As he gets older, he needs to find ways to continue molding his game to keep up with the modern NBA. Father Time continues to be undefeated but James continues pushing back. His passing abilities will prove to be among the best in the league and put him on pace to be in the top five all-time in assists within the next two years.