LeBron James has spent more than 20 years utilizing his unrivaled combination of size, strength, athleticism, and skill to impose his will on every game he plays. It's a truth that the Los Angeles Lakers have benefited from, with a championship to show for his greatness and efforts.
As first-year head coach JJ Redick enters uncharted territory, however, he seems to have finally answered the recent and essential question of how to pace to James through the regular season.
James has been nothing short of brilliant in 2024-25, stuffing the stat sheet and shooting the lights out. Roughly a month shy of turning 40, there are few who would argue against his inclusion on a far-too-early All-NBA team.
One of the primary reasons he and the Lakers have been mutually successful has been the unavoidable fact that Redick has cracked the code—thus far, at least.
Through 13 games, the Lakers are 9-4 and James is flirting with averaging a triple-double. He set a new personal best for consecutive games with at least 10, 10, and 10, and has already produced three different 30-point outings.
James' quality of play can't be praised enough, but far too little is being said about how brilliant Redick's approach to his utilization has been.
JJ Redick proving less can be more from LeBron James in regular season
James is currently averaging 23.3 points, 9.2 assists, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.4 three-point field goals made on .514/.431/.758 shooting. A vast majority of players will never come close to hitting any of those marks, let alone posting them simultaneously.
One of the biggest takeaways from the way the Lakers are currently using James can be found in that first number—James' lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2003-04.
The reason for that startling fact is simple: James is averaging a career-low 16.6 field goal attempts per game. For those who haven't been watching, it's likely baffling that Redick would have him attempting fewer shots when he's converting at clips of 51.4 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from beyond the arc.
James has been playing as a part of the system rather than as the heart of it, however, which has made way for him to truly take over when the team needs him most—all without expending too much energy.
JJ Redick is pacing LeBron James through the regular season
James continues to play a featured role as a facilitator across all four quarters, but his scoring has become situational. His efficiency, which is unbelievable, yet consistent with his trend of putting up points at will for more than 20 years, has permitted that shift in priorities.
Redick and James have embraced the situational approach and thus enabled other Lakers to play with the ball in their hands and thus develop on-ball rhythms of their own.
With James' uncanny ability to take over whenever his team needs him to, he's effectively been filling in the gaps all season. Anthony Davis is playing at an MVP-caliber level, scoring consistently across all four quarters and enabling James to pick up the slack when his team needs a bucket.
More importantly: It's allowed the Lakers to win the type of games they would've lost in previous seasons.
Los Angeles is currently 3-1 when James scores fewer than 20 points. By comparison, it was 6-7 when he failed to reach the 20-point plateau in 2023-24—meaning it's already halfway to that win total and we aren't even in December.
It's early enough to believe that James will get back to his steady average of at least 25 points per game, but considering the Lakers are on pace for at least 56 wins, there's no reason to fix what isn't broken.
This new approach should give James the maximum amount of energy come the postseason.