In recent seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have relied heavily on LeBron James’ excellent basketball to win games. They struggled last season when he was benched, and that played a role in them winning just 47 games and losing in the first round of the playoffs.

But they’re off to a 3-0 start this season, even if James has only played a few brief spells of excellent ball. After going 6-of-16 through the first three quarters of Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, he entered the Wayback Machine for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. In the span of just under four minutes, he scored 16 points, sparking an unreal 21-0 run that resulted in a 131-127 win.

James emphasized that the team composition allows him to choose when to turn on the device, thus conserving his finite energy.

Over the past season and recent changes, the management has transformed a very mediocre team into one with plenty of talent, at least on an attacking level. A trade in January 2023 landed them Rui Hachimura, and just a few weeks later they brought in the beleaguered Russell Westbrook for D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Additionally, the development of guard Austin Reaves and potential rookie Dalton Knecht who started this season has made the Lakers look like a very solid team.

They still have a long way to go, but the atmosphere around the team hasn’t seemed so positive for a while.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James on how Lakers makeup helps him conserve energy