New Lakers Addition Speaks on Rare LeBron James Moment

By Justin Grasso

Contributing Sports Writer

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Before LeBron James made his season debut with the Los Angeles Lakers last week, the superstar forward did something he’s never done before. He joined the Lakers’ G League team for practice.

It’s not unusual for veteran players to take on a G League practice while working back from an injury. Since LeBron has mostly avoided long stretches of absences throughout his career, the Lakers never had a need to send him to South Bay.

On Tuesday, the new Lakers addition, Drew Timme, spoke on LeBron’s unexpected stint with the G League squad.

“It was pretty crazy, man. Like, I mean, that’s the GOAT,” Timme told reporters. “To be able to share the floor with him, especially being a G League team, that’s so outside of the normal of anything. It was crazy, but I think it just shows how connected the two programs are, and it’s super cool. He came down, and that’s our job, to help him get back into game speed. We were just glad to help, and it was really cool to hoop with him.”

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Timme joined the South Bay Lakers for the first time ahead of the 2025-2026 NBA G League season. He came from the Brooklyn Nets, who waived him back in October. At this point, Timme has earned himself a two-way contract, which will allow him to split time between the G League and the NBA. Therefore, Timme got a little preview of what it’s like to play alongside LeBron days before landing his new deal.

“I was on his team. I was just trying to get him the ball in his spots,” Timme recalled. “Whatever he needed me to do, I was going to try to do, and it was fun.”

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Prior to the call-up, Timme averaged 33.7 minutes of action in six games with South Bay. While shooting 51 percent from the field, Timme has produced 25.5 points per game. In addition, he averaged 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 steals on the defensive end.

Timme entered the NBA in 2023. He went undrafted out of Gonzaga, starting in the NBA G League with the Wisconsin Herd. He also had stints with the Stockton Kings, Long Island Nets, and the Nets’ main roster. Last season, Timme appeared in nine games, averaging 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in around 29 minutes of action per game.

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