LeBron James sets the pace for the Lakers early in the season

SAN DIEGO – LeBron James' first game with his third franchise opened with a pair of notable games in the Los Angeles Lakers pre-season debut against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

True to himself, James' first countdown to statistics as Laker was an unbranded, wraparound pass that found Brandon Ingram for a dunk.

Less than a minute later, after an offensive rebound by Rajon Rondo and a throw-in, James hit a 26-foot 3-pointer with 9:12 remaining in the first quarter, getting his first bucket with his new team.

Framed artwork was placed outside the Lakers locker room at the Valley View Casino Center, designed as a concert poster commemorating the "LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers Debut", with the front and the center of James' image, flanked by the artistic rendering of Lonzo Ball. , Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart around him.

While James was the star player of the poster, it was Ingram, not the MVP and triple champion, who filled in the stats sheet in the first half, while the third-year striker had 13 points , 4 rebounds. and 2 flights to James, 9 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

James played 15 minutes in the first half and Kuzma started in his third quarter.

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LeBron James drives past a half-court and then reverses a 3-pointer back.

James also made its impact apart from the dazzling plays that drew 13,565 spectators.

A concrete example: when James left the match with 3:02 remaining in the first quarter, the Lakers led by one. When he came back with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter, L.A trailed by 13.

The more things change, the more things stay the same, while the Cleveland Cavaliers had a hard time every time James was out of the court in the last four seasons.

Still, the enthusiasm for this Lakers group, which is clearly a work in progress, was palpable early on Sunday. Nearly 300 spectators attended the morning shootout of the team in Temecula, about an hour from San Diego. And there was such a crowd of cameras in the Lakers locker room before the match that the Nuggets defenders were not the only bodies James had found to sail.

"Excuse me, get away from my locker, please," James said, poking his way through the crowd.

Shortly after, he went on the pitch for the first time to play a game as Laker and had to face Denver, another team like LA in the hope of running this season and become a tight race in the Western Conference playoffs.