20-time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers combo forward LeBron James is on the precipe of his record-tying 22nd NBA season.

All 30 of the league’s teams will tip off training camp on Tuesday, October 1, and L.A. will play its first regular season contest on October 22 against the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves.

Minnesota underwent a massive makeover late on Friday night. The Timberwolves flipped four-time All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks, in exchange for three-time All-Star Julius Randle, veteran wing Donte DiVincenzo, combo forward Keita Bates-Diop, and a first round draft pick. The club adds depth and gets off Towns’ exorbitant contract, though it might miss some of his sharpshooting. The 7-foot big man averaged 21.8 points on .504/.416/.873 shooting splits with Minnesota in the 2023-24 regular season. Though Towns was a matchup nightmare for Lakers forwards James and Rui Hachimura, Randle could be an easier cover in Game 1 of the club’s 2024-25 regular season.

James has long been known to take it easy on the defensive end throughout the regular season, will summoning more two-way prowess during the playoffs.

The four-time league MVP’s new head coach JJ Redick — who also (perhaps not coincidentally) happens to have been James’ “Mind The Game” podcast co-host — was asked at a recent presser, alongside team president Rob Pelinka, about how he intended to approach James’ usage this year. The 39-year-old superstar has already been the NBA’s oldest active player since the start of the 2023-24 season, and is now so seasoned that his own 19-year-old son, ex-USC Trojans point guard Bronny James, has become his teammate.

“I think it goes again back to the communication. LeBron, myself, Mike (Mancias), LeRoy (Sims), we’ve already sort of talked through what October will look like for him as we ramp up,” Redick said.

James and L.A. co-star Anthony Davis spent the summer suiting up for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they helped lead the program to its fifth consecutive gold medal. It was James’ third gold (and fourth Olympic medal overall) and Davis’ second.

“I think everyone in this building is cognizant of the fact that he’s almost 40,” the 40-year-old Redick allowed. “But when we watch the pick-up games, he’s going full tilt. If he’s going on the court, he’s going. So in some ways, sometimes we maybe have to save him from himself, whether that’s in training camp, practices throughout the season. But we’ll be mindful and thoughtful. We have a process for all of that as well.”

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