LeBron James and Kevin Durant join forces for the first time in their NBA career outside an All-Star game.

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 118-114 in the NBA preseason, as teams are currently preparing for the start of the regular season on October 22. While preseason games aren’t really demonstrations of basketball excellence, it doesn’t mean we can’t have any fun watching them. For instance, LeBron James and Kevin Durant joined forces in a rare occasion as they trolled an ejected fan toward the end of the third quarter, with the Lakers holding an 89-80 lead.

“Action stops as a fan is ejected for trying to shoot the ball from behind the basket,” as reported by LA Times reporter Dan Woike on X, formerly Twitter. “After a delay (including Lebron playfully signaling for him to be tossed) the fan resisted as security tried to get him out of the building.”

Lakers fall to Suns in preseason

© David Frerker-Imagn Images

LeBron James and Kevin Durant trolling aside, the Lakers also made NBA history in this game for fielding both Bron and Bronny James on the court together, becoming the first father-son duo to play together in any NBA game.

However, the King only played the first half, scoring 19 points, while Bronny went scoreless, though he grabbed two boards. Meanwhile, LeBron’s on-court partner Anthony Davis put in 17 points in his first-half stint.

Evidently, there’s still a lot of kinks for the Lakers to iron out during preseason and training camp, and rookie head coach JJ Redick sounds prepared to take on the challenge.

Moreover, Redick’s coaching debut versus the Minnesota Timberwolves showed him some areas for improvement that his team should focus on before the season begins.

“I think the thing I was most disappointed with was our one-through-four reds, which is our switching… We didn’t execute that at all,” the coach said in an interview with Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Besides the wrinkles, the Lakers did see causes for optimism, particularly in their No.17 draft pick Dalton Knecht, who scored 16 points against the Wolves. The rookie boasted his NBA-ready game while Bronny James showed flashes as a disruptor on defense, despite his relative lack of size and lackluster scoring.

Troubleshooting

Against the Suns, Rui Hachimura’s eight rebounds also signaled a welcome change in the Lakers’ philosophy. Last season, Hachimura only averaged 4.3 rebounds, terrible production for a player of his size and frame.

Hachimura is also just one of the Lakers’ key players who will need to step up if they want to reclaim playoff glory. For instance, they’ll need to shake off their terrible habit of falling asleep while holding a big lead, expecting Bron and AD to save them in the clutch.

Look for Redick to try fixing these problems early, particularly during the honeymoon period at the beginning of the season.