On Tuesday night, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James made his season debut after missing the first 14 games of the 2025-26 campaign due to sciatica on his right side. James’ debut made NBA history, as he became the first player to play a 23rd season.
The season debut of the four-time NBA champion made a lot of headlines on Tuesday, with all the league insiders, like Chris Haynes, reporting about the return of James.
Chris Haynes Gets Clowned for Text Exchange With LeBron James
While on NBA TV with former star Rudy Gay, Haynes claimed that he had texted James to support his debut and received a response in return. Gay couldn’t contain himself, as he proceeded to hilariously call Haynes out on live television.
Chris: “Do your thing tonight.”
LeBron: “I’m on it.”@ChrisBHaynes texts LeBron mid-show to hype him up before his season debut 😂Don’t miss Lakers/Jazz at 10:30pm/et on NBA League Pass pic.twitter.com/EYp4k9V5EG
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 19, 2025
Haynes claimed to have receipts showing James actually texted him, but Gay said it was “James LeBron,” jokingly, of course, and not the Lakers superstar.
With Haynes being one of the seasoned insiders in the league, like Shams Charania of ESPN, with several contacts, he was probably telling the truth. Haynes is one of the best in the business, but was clearly an easy target on live television.
As for James, the veteran forward finally returned to the floor after a long absence to start the season and played well, considering the circumstances. He kept his streak of consecutive games scoring in double digits while moving pretty well on the court, which is a promising sign for the Lakers moving forward, who have a chance to play at a higher level with one of the best players in the game back in the rotation.
James finished the game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena with 11 points, 12 assists, three rebounds, and a steal while logging 30 minutes in his return.
The Lakers went on to win their 11th game of the season and a third straight, with Luka Dončić leading the charge. The Slovenian import finished with a game-high 37 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals.
The win, fresh off the team’s first long road trip, was well-timed, as the Lakers won’t play another game until Sunday, when they are back on the road against the Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
