On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans, with superstar LeBron James and veteran newcomer Marcus Smart ruled out for the game due to different reasons.
Smart was ruled out of this contest against one of his former teams due to dealing with back spasms. It would be the second straight game the one-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year would miss with his ailment.
As for James, Lakers head coach JJ Redick and his coaching staff are trying to manage the soon-to-be 41-year-old the right way during his 23rd season to keep him fresh throughout the 2025-26 campaign, meaning he’ll likely sit out back-to-back situations, with the Lakers set to face the Phoenix Suns on Monday in Los Angeles.
Lakers’ JJ Redick Sets Record Straight on LeBron James’ Status
Redick revealed how he’ll use James in back-to-back situations moving forward, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We’re going to build him up,” Redick said of James.
JJ Redick does not rule out LeBron James playing in back-to-backs as the season progresses. “We’re going to build him up,” Redick said before the Pelicans game. Redick said the coaching staff and LeBron both have interest in him playing in b2bs moving forward.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 1, 2025
Clearly, the team doesn’t want to overwork the player who has played more games than any other in NBA history, and that makes a lot of sense, especially considering the Lakers are looking like a legitimate title contender in the Western Conference right now.
The smart move here was to sit James for Sunday’s game against one of the worst teams in the league and have him suit up against the Suns, who have played better than expected this season at 12-9, winning six of their last 10 games.
It comes as no surprise that the Lakers didn’t need James on the floor on Sunday, as they made easy work of the visiting Pelicans, 133-121. The three-headed monster of Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton was more than enough to take down the team that has only won three games this season, as they combined for 88 points between them.
With another win in the books for the Lakers, the team improves its record to 15-4 and has now won seven straight games, which is the second-best win streak in the league, behind the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who have won 12 games in a row.
The Lakers also only sit behind the Thunder in the Western Conference standings, with Oklahoma City sporting an NBA-best record of 20-1.
