LeBron James is 36 and with just 71 days between winning his fourth championship in the Orlando bubble and the start of the 2020-21 season, the overwhelming expectation earlier this year was that his workload would be managed carefully. Still, James hasn’t lost a game this season, and the Lakers’ last three games have pushed him to the limit.
The Lakers went into overtime again on Wednesday, with a 114-113 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. This was his third consecutive game in overtime, a feat that has not matched nearly three decades. The Lakers went into overtime in their first three games of the 1991-92 season, and just as they needed two overtime in the first game of that straight against the Houston Rockets, they needed two overtime to beat the Detroit Pistons in the first game of the east stretch. Unlike that streak in 1991, however, the Lakers managed to win all three overtime games, including two without Anthony Davis.
The Lakers have to thank LeBron for that. He has played 130 minutes in the last three games, the maximum he has played in any stretch of three games like Laker. That includes until the 2020 postseason, when he never reached 42 minutes played. He did this twice in the last two games and almost did it again on Wednesday. The Lakers allowed James to skip his scheduled media availability after the game due to the number of minutes he played.
The Lakers play again on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Resting it would be a complicated proposition, as the game would be broadcast nationally on ESPN. They play on ESPN again on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets before returning to local cable on Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This would be a sensible game to rest James, as the Timberwolves have the worst NBA record. The following Thursday, the Lakers will play the Brooklyn Nets in one of the most anticipated games of the season, so having a fully rested James would help the Lakers use that game as an appropriate measure against a possible opponent in the finals.
But James has not wanted to skip games to rest so far this season. Whether he plans to do that or not, remains to be seen. If you do, the choice would be more than justified. He led his team through three painful consecutive penetrations, without his best teammate in the last two. If anyone deserves a night off, it’s him.