LeBron James finally made his long-awaited season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday and immediately planted one of his teammates firmly on the bench as a result. JJ Redick did not even give it a second thought throughout the night.
James joined Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton in the starting lineup for the Lakers' decisive 140-126 win over the Utah Jazz. That immediately answered the question of who the fifth starter was going to be when LeBron was back in the mix.
What was ultimately shocking by the end of the night was the absence of Jarred Vanderbilt.