LeBron James has made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in a pre-season match-up with the Denver Nuggets.
James scored nine points, three assists and three rebounds in 15 first-half minutes for the Lakers, in front of a captivated sell-out crowd.
His first bucket for the team came with nine minutes left in the first quarter, when he scored a three-pointer from 26 feet.
LeBron James drains his first #NBAPreseason bucket in a @Lakers uniform! WATCH on @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/qQWdHZRiIM — NBA (@NBA) October 1, 2018
A minute earlier he had made a bounce pass that found Brandon Ingram for a dunk.
The Lakers eventually fell 124-107 to the Nuggets – but will be hoping to fare better in their regular-season opener on October 18 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
James agreed a 154 million dollar (£116million) deal with the Lakers in June which saw him leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second time.
The 33-year-old had been with the Cavs for 11 seasons, taking a four-year break at the Miami Heat in 2010-2014.
LeBron finished with 9 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists in 15 minutes of floor time in his first preseason game as a Laker. pic.twitter.com/gdOuPSSNXm — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 1, 2018
The 14-time All Star averaged 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists in 82 regular season games in 2017-18.
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'e26d6410-1ec9-4895-a78a-033159d73dbe');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:basketball,sport:other');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'LeBron James opens up his LA Lakers account with nine points against the Nuggets'});
