Video Exposes LeBron James Standing And Walking On Defense For Lakers Against Suns
- LeBron James’ offensive struggles on the court for the Los Angeles Lakershave been a big talking point over the last week or so. James has played well below expectations on offense, but he might be doing even worse on the other end. A video has gone viral on social media that shows James was giving minimal effort on defense during the Lakers’ 127-100 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 26.LeBron James’ offensive struggles on the court for the Los Angeles Lakershave been a big talking point over the last week or so. James has played well below expectations on offense, but he might be doing even worse on the other end. A video has gone viral on social media that shows James was giving minimal effort on defense during the Lakers’ 127-100 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 26.
James was just standing or slow-walking in those clips. No one expects a 39-year-old in his 21st season in the NBA to be a lockdown defender, but you’d want to see a bit more effort from him.
In November, a clip went viral of James not hustling back on defense after a turnover against the Denver Nuggets. His not putting effort on that end of the floor is becoming a more and more common sight at this point.
Of the 42 players averaging at least 34 minutes per game in the NBA in 2024-25, James ranks 41st in distance covered per game at 12,254.5 feet. The only one below him is James Harden, who is at 11,452.5 feet per game.
James’ low placement on that list shows he isn’t running around much on offense either. He is playing off the ball more under new Lakers head coach JJ Redick, with his 27.7% usage rate this season being the second-lowest of his career, but there hasn’t been a lot of movement on his part when he doesn’t have the ball.
While James’ lack of effort hasn’t hurt the Lakers a lot offensively, it has played a part in their defensive struggles. Their defensive rating of 116.7 ranks 24th in the NBA and that’s not good enough. Teams with mediocre defenses almost never win titles and the Lakers have a long way to go before their defense is even considered mediocre. Change of some sort is certainly needed. I don’t see James putting in any more effort moving forward, though, so the Lakers will need to look at bringing in some top-level defenders to fix their woes on that end of the floor.