Why Lakers still need the King—just not his crown

Los Angeles is just better when the Lakers are rolling. 

The city feels more alive. The lights get brighter. The stars come out. The crowd is electric, like a power grid before a thunderstorm. 

And right now, with LeBron James not on the court, the Lakers are rolling.

Three straight blowout wins. A 10-2 record this season without LeBron. Victories over contenders including the Knicks and Timberwolves. Suddenly sports talk radio is asking the question that was once unthinkable in Los Angeles:

Are the Lakers better without LeBron?

Let’s kill that nonsense right here.

No. Absolutely not.

The Lakers might be playing freer basketball during this stretch, but make no mistake: If this team wants to reach its absolute ceiling — not just win a few regular-season games — it needs LeBron James on the floor. Badly.

And if you think the answer is bringing one of the greatest players in NBA history off the bench, then you need to have your head examined.

LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He has arguably the greatest basketball IQ the sport has ever seen. You don’t relegate a mind like that to sixth-man minutes because the team played well for three games in March.

That’s not a strategy.

That’s an overreaction.

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Even Lakers coach JJ Redick acknowledged the 6-foot, 9-inch elephant in the room before Tuesday’s 120-106 dismantling of the Timberwolves. 

“We obviously want him in the lineup. There’s a human element to all this. It’s what they are comfortable doing as basketball players. One of those guys has scored the most points in NBA history and has been doing it for 23 years. He’s always had the ball in his hands,” Redick said.

“For another guy (Luka Doncic), who’s had five first-team All-NBA, and should have another one this year, he’s always had the ball in his hands, and Austin Reaves ascended to an All-Star level and also needing the ball in his hands. The human struggle to want what you want, while also having the emotional maturity that you have someone next to you. That hasn’t been as clean.”

Redick wasn’t dodging the question. He was answering it in the most truthful, eloquent and honest way possible. 

This isn’t about removing LeBron from the equation. It’s about defining the equation correctly. 

Because the Lakers’ issue has never been talent. It’s been about the Big 3 having enough time together on the court with their new players to establish a rhythm and chemistry. To establish a clear pecking order. To understand how to play together so that everyone is playing freely and organically. Reacting in the moment, not overthinking every moment. 

Three elite creators — Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves — all spent their careers orchestrating offenses with the ball in their hands. That’s three conductors trying to lead the same orchestra. Naturally, there were moments this season where the music sounded a little chaotic.

Redick hit the nail on the head when he called it “the human element.”

LeBron missed training camp with a sciatica injury. Reaves missed time earlier in the year. The trio simply hasn’t had enough shared minutes to develop instinctive chemistry. Basketball — like jazz — requires repetition before improvisation becomes beautiful.

“I think we’re starting to get it now,” an optimistic Redick said. “There’s a clear pecking order when Luka, LeBron and AR (Austin Reaves) all are on the floor together. That’s the nature of every Big 3 that’s ever existed. We’re going to get there.”

How the Lakers get there is the big question.

But the blueprint is becoming obvious.

And it starts with one uncomfortable truth.

Luka Doncic has to eat first.

Not because LeBron isn’t capable of carrying the offense — he absolutely is — but because Doncic is now the engine of this team. He’s the present and the future of the franchise. When Luka is in rhythm, the Lakers’ offense transforms into something borderline unguardable.

The worst thing Luka can do when LeBron returns is defer.

If Doncic is standing on the wing thinking, “That’s LeBron James, I should probably give him the ball,” the Lakers’ offense will stall again.

Luka has to play like the king of the castle. Which is tough when one of the three already anointed himself as “The King.”

Which leads to the next surprise.

Austin Reaves should be second in the pecking order.

Yes, second.

Reaves has blossomed into an All-Star-caliber offensive player when he’s aggressive and free-flowing. The numbers back it up, but more importantly the eye test screams it. When Reaves attacks without hesitation — probing defenses, drawing fouls, creating chaos — the Lakers’ offense becomes layered and unpredictable.

When he defers too much, the Lakers become easier to guard.

So let him cook.

Which leaves LeBron James as the third option.

And that’s not disrespect.

It’s just evolution.

LeBron doesn’t need 30 points a night to dominate a basketball game anymore. He can dissect defenses like a surgeon with the ball moving through him instead of stopping with him.

Think of how Rui Hachimura has played during LeBron’s absence. Spotting up in corners. Cutting to open lanes. Crashing the glass. Attacking mismatches.

There is no world where Rui Hachimura is a better basketball player than LeBron James.

But there is a lesson there.

LeBron can impact winning without dominating usage.

Earlier this season in Toronto, he scored just eight points — snapping his historic double-digit scoring streak — and the Lakers still won because he orchestrated everything else.

That’s the modern version of LeBron James.

The savant.

The manipulator of space.

The basketball philosopher moving pieces across the court like a grandmaster staring at a chessboard.

And Redick’s final task will be staggering minutes wisely.

There must be stretches where Luka runs the offense alone. Moments where Reaves takes control. Windows where LeBron becomes the primary ball handler again.

Everyone gets oxygen.

Everyone stays dangerous.

Because the truth is simple: The Lakers’ recent success without LeBron isn’t proof they’re better without him.

It’s proof they’re learning how to play the right way.

Now comes the final step.

Add the King back into the orchestra — not as the loudest instrument but as the musician who knows exactly when the music needs to rise.

And when that harmony finally clicks?

The rest of the Western Conference might discover something terrifying.

The Lakers weren’t better without LeBron.

They were just rehearsing for the grand finale.