NBA Analyst Bill Simmons Claims LeBron James ‘Reinventing Himself’ Has Shifted the Lakers’ Outlook in the West: ‘I’ve Never Seen Him Do (That)’

LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers are hitting their stride at the perfect time. After an up-and-down season that has been plagued by defensive shortcomings and overreliance on their top players, they’ve won five straight games to climb to third in the Western Conference.

Amid the Lakers’ late-season ascent, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons re-evaluated their outlook, crediting James for making an unprecedented change to his approach in Year 23.

LeBron James’ Mindset Shift Alters Bill Simmons’ View of the Lakers

LA’s star power has long been undeniable, with one of the league’s premier Big 3s in James, Luka Dončić, and Austin Reaves. However, questions about their overlapping skill sets as ball-dominant, offensive-centric players have lingered, with many analysts discounting the Lakers as legitimate NBA title contenders.

Dončić and Co. have flipped the script over the past couple of weeks, though, going 8-1 since Feb. 28. During that stretch, they’ve boasted a top-three offensive rating (122.5) and top-eight defensive rating (110.1). The latter marks a stark improvement upon their season-long 20th-ranked defensive rating (115.9), with Simmons taking notice of their improved two-way effort.

After Saturday’s 127-125 overtime home win over the Denver Nuggets, LA (42-25) sits third in the West, with just three games separating it from the seventh seed. According to Simmons, the Lakers’ positive developments could be here to stay.

On Sunday’s edition of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Simmons, an avid Boston Celtics fan and admitted LA hater, observed that on top of Dončić’s offensive greatness and the team’s rejuvenated defense, James has firmly settled into a complementary role since his return from hip and foot injuries.

“They had a timely LeBron injury, as weird as that sounds,” Simmons said. “He only left for a couple of games. It reset the calibration, and he came back, and it’s been interesting to watch him reinvent himself as this, basically, third option. ‘Can I rebound, make some hustle plays?’ He made a great diving hustle play the other day, which I’ve never seen him do.”

@BillSimmons and @RobMahoney discuss whether the Lakers are the fourth-best team in the West right now pic.twitter.com/Gc5f9Zof1x

— The Ringer (@ringer) March 16, 2026

During the final minute of regulation against Denver, James took the NBA world by surprise, diving to the ground to secure a rebound with the Lakers trailing 112-111. After the victory, LA coach JJ Redick said that the 22-time All-Star admitted that he had “never” made a “full-out extension dive like that.”

The critical play came days after James highlighted his desire to make the necessary “sacrifices” and “adapt” for the good of his team. With just 15 games remaining, if the Lakers can sustain their renewed defensive intensity with James fully locked in, they could enter the playoffs as a dark-horse threat outside of the West’s clear-cut top-two squads (Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs).

“I had written this team off as a contender,” Simmons added. “Now I’m like — because of what’s happened in the West and because Denver is just a train wreck at the end of these games — I just wonder like, yeah, maybe they could win two rounds. Who knows?”