LeBron James shows love to Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, who ask for his Lakers jersey on NBA opening night
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers going down 107-119 to the Denver Nuggets didn't disappoint the likes of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. The duo were in attendance at the opening night blockbuster between the two heavyweight teams and the Colorado Buffaloes stars were left speechless after being dapped up by James. So much so that, Hunter could only yell in excitement.
The four-time NBA champion made his way over to the duo and after telling that he loved them both Shedeur said he needed to get his hands on James' jersey, the No. 23 which was back after he used No. 6 for the last two seasons. While there is no confirmation that the 38-year-old agreed to give them a jersey, the whole interaction had Hunter thrilled.
Despite the loss, James had a decent outing in his 21st year in the league. The forward finished with 21 points shooting 10-16 from the field, coupled with eight rebounds, and five assists in 29 minutes. With the contest being the first game, it's understandable that the Lakers are keeping him to less than 30 minutes of action.
Darvin Ham explains why he played LeBron James for just 29 minutes against the Denver Nuggets
According to Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, playing LeBron James for less than 30 minutes was part of the team's plan to keep him effective. Speaking to the media in the aftermath of the loss, Ham spoke about the reduced workload.
Per ESPN:
"It's easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are."
Last season, the leading scorer in the NBA averaged 35.5 minutes per game — the second-most he had played in his five seasons with LA. With the team looking to make a surge in the second half of the regular season, James upped the minutes playing through an ankle injury throughout the season.
LeBron James and the LA Lakers play the Phoenix Suns next, and with Kevin Durant facing off against LeBron for the first time in the regular season since 2018, expect "King James" to bump up his minutes as he intends to get the better of Durant and the Suns.