LeBron James’ body language on the sidelines was a major talking point throughout and after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-109 season-opening home loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. However, according to Lakers coach JJ Redick, the injured 21-time All-Star (sciatica)Â still did his part to help his team regroup after the disappointing defeat.
James has been managing a nerve issue since early August and is expected to remain out until mid-November, likely missing around the first 13 to 15 games of the 2025-26 campaign. While he was on LA’s bench on opening night, many quickly pointed out that the 40-year-old appeared disengaged. Some even suggested that James may already have a foot out the door following an offseason of constant speculation about his future.
Redick has since struck a different tone, fueling confidence that James remains fully committed to the Purple and Gold for his unprecedented 23rd campaign.
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Following Wednesday’s film session, Redick stressed his squad’s focus on improving its 3-point coverage in transition after allowing Golden State to shoot 17-for-40 from long distance (42.5 percent).
“The things we cleaned up in film and the things we cleaned up in practice were very simple… We did a poor job of locating the lasers in transition, which was an emphasis point of our game plan,” Redick said. “Buddy Hield got two off in the second half. Steph got one right in front of our bench in the first half. That was literally the second priority of the game was locating those guys in transition. So, clean that up, and again, talk through that.”
Redick noted that James, now in Year 8 with LA, was a vocal presence during the film study, helping drive the point home. The second-year coach added that he depends on James and the rest of last season’s holdovers to help newcomers like Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia adjust to his defensive system.
“Bron was very helpful. All of us just kind of having a discussion point in film about that,” Redick shared. “And then the second is just our shifts…The guys returning needed to reinforce and repeat some things from our shifts and what that looks like, what our closeouts look like, and for the new guys, creating clarity for that… Saw it on film. It wasn’t good, and so, that’s stuff that’s really controllable.”
“Bron was really helpful.” JJ Redick describes the Lakers’ film session on Wednesday and the dialogue with LeBron James in the room helping identify the areas of improvement for the group. pic.twitter.com/KIUzId86sd
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 22, 2025
The Lakers were unable to capitalize on a combined 69 points from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. They shot just 8-for-32 from deep (25.0 percent) and struggled defensively. Their next chance to get back on track sans James comes on Friday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
