When LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers in July, one of the theories on his reasoning was that he might finally be ready to take a step back in ballhandling duties.
On some level, James has done that. His usage rate (the percentage of Lakers possessions that end in a shot, assist, turnover of free throws for James) is currently at 31.2 percent, which ranks 10th out of his 16 NBA seasons. Getting James’ usage any lower than that has proven a challenge for the Lakers, and for James himself, who admitted after the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers that he didn’t think he’d be carrying this much of a load offensively.