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Bye-bye load management? LeBron James boldly vows to play 82 games this season

At 39-year-old, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James continues to star on the court and according to him, he plans to keep that trend going for all 82 games this season. That would be only the second time in his career he's accompished such a feat.

By Andrew Bernucca

Oct 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James (23) heads to the locker room at the end of the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James (23) heads to the locker room at the end of the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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After a 3-0 start to the season and the JJ Redick era, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their first loss of the season to the Phoenix Suns last night. The loss was accompanied by one of the worst shooting nights of LeBron James' career. He finished with only 11 points, on 3-of-14 shooting.

In all four games this season, James — who will turn 40 in December, has played at least 34 minutes. This game was the second time this season the Lakers faced the Phoenix Suns, having beaten them in their first outing. After that matchup, James said he plans on playing every game this season.

"Yeah. I plan on playing every game," James said. "We’ll see what happens. You never know. We’ll see what happens if I don’t.”

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Is it a good idea for LeBron James to play all 82 games?

If James' statement is genuine and becomes reality come April, it would mark only the second time in his 22-season career that he has played all 82 games. The only other time he did so was during the 2017-18 season during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The remark was a surprise as James' workload has been a notable topic of conversation for James ever since he joined the Lakers.

Last season, under Darvin Ham, the Lakers wanted to try to keep James under 30 minutes per game, and that lasted about two games before the plug was pulled on it. Load management is a hot topic of conversation around the league as well. The Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid said during the summer he doesn't plan to play any back-to-backs for not just this season, but perhaps the rest of his career. Embiid is supposedly healthy according to the Sixers, and thus his absence for their national TV opener against the Milwaukee Bucks is now under investigation by the league for violation of the NBA's player participation policy.

Teams have found success with load management approaches before. During the Toronto Raptors 2018-19 season, star Kawhi Leonard did not play in back-to-backs, was healthy for the playoffs, and led the Canadian franchise to its only championship in its history.

The Lakers, however, likely won't have the depth to survive absences from James, especially in a loaded Western Conference. Even if they wanted to rest James, the opportunities are scarce. The Lakers have been a play-in team the last two seasons and last season, it led to a first-round exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. It was the second season in a row James had been eliminated by Nikola Jokic.

With the Lakers strong start to the season, James likely has his sights set on something more than the play-in and potential first-round exit. But that something more will, as always, rest on his shoulders. To finish in the top-6 in the West, James will need to play as many games as possible and it seems that's why he plans on doing so.

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