Lakers G-League head coach publicly expressed his love for James training with the team

According to US sports media F/W analyst Gautam Warrier, James trained with the South Bay Lakers, the G-League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, last week, working hard to achieve his long-awaited season debut. James was assigned to South Bay on Wednesday, and their head coach Zach Guthrie recently spoke to the media about what it's like to have the icon in their practice sessions. “To have the greatest player of all time join you in training, first and foremost, what an opportunity it is for each of us to be a part of that,” Guthrie said via Raj Chipalu. "Just a small part of his journey, his 23rd season. Getting him healthy and having him back playing with the Lakers, it's been an unbelievable experience."

"The unbelievable thing to me when I was working on the practice schedule was pretty crazy," Guthrie continued. "It was an incredible experience for all of us. I think the biggest thing is, I talked to them about two days of practice. I was like, look at this guy's practice habits," Guthrie added. "Looking at how he came in first, how he handled it, how his mind was completely locked in, completely focused. His preparation before and after. How he took care of his body was unbelievable. So, there's a lot more to us than just the wonderful experience they had. There's a lot to learn and a lot for our players to learn from."

James, who has sat out two practices with South Bay this season due to sciatica, will be incredible for Guthrie and the players to have him around. You can learn a lot from watching how he operates behind the scenes. While you might imagine they'd love to have James on the floor for an extended period of time, he was reassigned to the Lakers on Sunday. Austin Reeves expected the 40-year-old to play one game in the G-League, but that wasn’t the case.

James will participate as a full member of the Lakers' training on Monday. It looks likely we'll see the 21-time All-Star play for the first time this season against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday at Staples Arena. The Lakers could also choose to err on the side of caution and let James complete a few more practices before taking the court. They have four days off after Tuesday's game and will face the Jazz again at Delta Center on Sunday. Time will tell which approach head coach Redick and his coaching staff think is best.

The Lakers are obviously not in a hurry to get James back. Despite his absence, they still got off to a great start with 10 wins and 4 losses. Reeves and Doncic performed well. It will be worth watching how quickly everyone adapts after James comes on the court. You might struggle a little at first, but you should be fine in the long run. James will also make history every time he steps on the court this season. He will become the first player in NBA history to play the full 23rd season, which also proves his greatness. We all look forward to him shining on the court. Returning to Guthrie, he is currently in his second season as South Bay's head coach since being hired as head coach in September 2024. He led the team to a perfect record of 3 wins and 0 losses in the Showcase Cup, which is why the heroes cherish each other.