The Los Angeles Lakers are 11-4 after the first 15 games of the 2025-26 season, but their transition offense has lagged behind most of the league. Luka Doncic believes that will change now that LeBron James is back on the court.
Before James appeared in his first game of the season, the Lakers ranked 27th in fast-break scoring at 12.6 points per game, ahead of only the Charlotte Hornets, L.A. Clippers and Brooklyn Nets. They trailed the league-leading Toronto Raptors by nearly 10 points in that category.
James made his season debut on Nov. 18 against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Los Angeles scored 15 points in transition that night—an improvement, but still shy of the league average. Doncic said James’ presence should push that number higher.
“He makes things easier,” Doncic said. “He’s another player that can create, score and do a lot of things.”
The All-Star guard highlighted James’ vision and pace in the open floor. “Yeah, I mean, he’s an amazing transition player,” Doncic noted. “We always tell him that we appreciate his throw-aheads. We could do it even more, especially with LeBron back. His pace in transition is insane, so he’s going to help us a lot to get easy buckets.”
James finished his return game with 11 points and 12 assists, helping the Lakers erase a halftime deficit and defeat Utah. Afterward, he acknowledged he was still working on his conditioning following an extended layoff.
Head coach JJ Redick said James responded well physically during a subsequent four-day break that included a full practice session. “He’s all good,” Redick told reporters, adding that the team will continue to monitor the 40-year-old’s workload.
Los Angeles sits in the top half of the NBA’s overall offensive rating, but the club expects its standing to rise once the transition attack approaches league average with James back in the lineup.
Source: Lakers Nation
