LeBron James , who will make his season debut Tuesday night vs. the Jazz, has spent the better part of two decades playing Atlas for franchises that would collapse without him to keep them aloft. He's also spent a good chunk of that time making it clear he was ready for that to change. Heck, that was what motivated him to ditch the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in the first place. As far back as 2017, he talked about handing the Cavaliers over to Kyrie Irving . That was eight All-NBA selections ago. The Lakers made a point of supporting him with ball-handling from the moment he arrived in Los Angeles and, when that wasn't enough, he pushed for the disastrous Russell Westbrook trade. The moves kept failing. James kept playing Superman.

In fairness, it's all he's ever

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