LeBron James may have embraced a third option role in March to maximize the chemistry of the Los Angeles Lakers, but James hasn't forgotten that he's an alpha. Nor has LeBron accrued any rust when it comes to his underrated skills as a leader of men.
James wasted no time stepping up to the plate and asserting himself as the leader of the Lakers' wolf pack soon after Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down with injuries. According to ESPN's NBA insider Dave McMenamin, LeBron noticeably grabbed the reins of the Lakers during a team meeting in San Francisco about a week after Reaves and Doncic injured themselves against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
LeBron James has asserted himself as the leader of the Lakers
"The Lakers had lost their first two games after the injuries to Austin and Luka and they're up in San Francisco for a team meeting," McMenamin said on Tuesday. "Several team sources told me that LeBron from that moment on kind of shifted back into the leader role and the primary role."
LeBron has always led by example. And when you're one of the greatest players of all time, that example speaks at such a high volume that words aren't always necessary. This is exactly the kind of vibe that James gave off before Game 1 of the current series: When asked about what his message was to the Lakers about the need to rebound, LeBron basically admitted there was no message -- in his view, it was self-explanatory that the Lakers just needed to go out there and hold their own on the glass.
Actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes, but LeBron must understand by now that his actions on a basketball court aren't easily mimicked by his teammates ... or by anyone who's ever played the sport, for that matter. This is why James' actions alone do not make him a leader. And it's become clear that LeBron's capacities as a communicator and verbal leader have gone under-appreciated for years by virtually anyone who hasn't been his teammate.
LeBron's leadership skills were in hibernation, but they remain powerful
The McMenamin report suggests that LeBron flipped the switch on his leadership skills at that team meeting in San Fran, when James suddenly realized that if the Lakers were going to go anywhere worthwhile in the postseason, he'd have to operate as captain of the ship. This isn't to discredit the role of JJ Redick, whose talent as a defensive alchemist/architect will continue to be paramount to a round one victory for the Lakers.
Rather, it's to remind ourselves that LeBron is the most experienced NBA player in history, and he's picked up a few things here and there along the way that make him uniquely qualified to lead this Lakers team into battle, especially a battle stacked against them due to massive roster casualties. When the time came for LeBron to single-handedly direct the locker room, no one in league history could have been better prepared to step up and attack the assignment.
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