LeBron James must try to carry yet another team to playoff success with Lakers' Doncic, Reaves out

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James probably thought he was done playing this particular role.

After so many seasons in which James valiantly carried otherwise ordinary teams to extraordinary achievements, the greatest scorer in NBA history was not even the Los Angeles Lakers' focal point this year. Down the stretch of his first full season alongside Luka Doncic, the 41-year-old James became a supporting player of sorts while Doncic drove the Lakers’ offense and rising star Austin Reaves thrived.

This dynamic worked superbly while the Lakers made a 16-2 surge through March, winning the Pacific Division and prompting many to wonder if they could even conjure a challenge to Oklahoma City or San Antonio this spring.

And then Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) both went down in the Lakers' first game of April with significant injuries likely to sideline them for several weeks.

Just like that, James is alone in the spotlight once again this month, the Lakers' faint postseason hopes resting on a 23-year NBA veteran who has already done it all.

When Los Angeles hosts the Houston Rockets in its playoff opener Saturday night, James will attempt yet another improbable feat in a career full of them: Keeping the Lakers alive long enough for Doncic and Reaves to return.

“I’ve had to tap back into a role that I’ve been accustomed to in the past, but obviously wasn’t what it was this year,” James said. “Circumstances have put me back in here, and I’m just trying to feed off my teammates (while my) teammates feed off of me. Trying to make things happen for us to continue to stay afloat.”

Indeed, this would be a daunting challenge for almost any player except James. After he racked up 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds while the Lakers beat Golden State last week, he was asked what his team needs from him without its two top scorers.

“Everything,” James said. “So nothing changes for me. Just back to the old ways."

James has spent the majority of his basketball life lifting up the players around him. Even after he left Cleveland the first time to relieve that burden by forming the Miami Heat's super-team, he went home again after four years and spent four more seasons carrying the Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals against Golden State — most famously stretching the 2015 series to six games without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love, followed by leading Cleveland's epic rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win the 2016 title.

Here in the present, the Lakers realize their promising season has probably been sabotaged by unlucky injuries. Doncic, who led the NBA in scoring, has traveled to Spain in hopes of finding some medical way to get back on the court sooner, while Reaves is almost certainly out for at least the first round.

But with James in their lineup, Lakers coach JJ Redick will always feel they've got a chance.

“We’re going to need him to facilitate, and we’re going to need him to score,” Redick said. “We’re going to need him to defend and rebound. I think he recognizes the task at hand, and he’s very locked in. He’s played great.”

All three of the Lakers' stars have had injury problems this season, and they only got extensive playing time together recently. James missed training camp and the first 14 games of the regular season last fall after developing sciatica, yet he has played in 60 of the ensuing 68 games for Los Angeles, including five back-to-back sets.

“He had not a good season, not a great — he had a remarkable season, all things considered,” Redick said. “You take away the fact that he’s in his 23rd year, and he’s 41 years old, he had a remarkable season. The fact that those things are real, and they’re very real in terms of the day-to-day management, it’s unbelievable what he did this year.”

James' numbers reflect only slight concessions to his age and his lessened workload behind Doncic and Reaves: His 20.9 points per game were his fewest since his rookie year in 2003-04, while his 33.2 minutes per game were his lowest ever.

Yet when he's in the spotlight, James still delivers with remarkable frequency. He finished the regular season by averaging 24.0 points, 9.7 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in three Lakers victories to secure homecourt advantage in the first round.

James was named the Western Conference’s player of the week Monday for the 70th time — more than any other two players in NBA history combined.

“Just trying to squeeze as much of the juice as I can, until it’s as dry as it can be for me,” James said. “I’ve been given an opportunity to play the game that I love, and tried to do it at a high level, and I’ve tried to commit to it, and the game has given back to me.”

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks to make a pass during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, is fouled by Utah Jazz forward Blake Hinson (2) as he drives to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks on before an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.

As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.

It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.

Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.

Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.

"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”

Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”

Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.

Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.

Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.

Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”

Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.

The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.

The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.

Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.

The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.

Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.

Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”

“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”

The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.

The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.

Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.

“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)