On July 9, 2018, LeBron James signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The best player in the world was officially a Laker.

We are 61 games into the 2018–19 NBA season and the Lakers are in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.

What happened?

Most people would point to the injury bug as the cause of the Lakers’ struggles, which is valid. LeBron has missed 18 games this season and L.A. is only 3 games back from the 8-seed. They would certainly be a top-8 team right now if LeBron wasn’t injured.

Still, the Lakers are clearly not built to be contenders even with LeBron on the floor. The problem is more than just unluckiness stemming from injuries.

Shooting Woes

LeBron James is arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport. He’ll thrive in any environment. However, the true recipe for success is surrounding LeBron with accomplished jump shooters.

It sounds silly because he’ll likely retire with the most points scored of any player in NBA history, but LeBron’s greatness isn’t because of his scoring ability — plenty of legends have scored at his level. LeBron is special because of his ability to bring out the best in his teammates.

Defenses have to key in on LeBron’s unstoppable drives to the basket which allows him to utilize his uncanny vision and passing ability. Just give him players who can knock down those open shots and you’re set.

On this play, LeBron gets a mismatch in the post against Courtney Lee. Enes Kanter has to come over to double-team LeBron, leaving Tristan Thompson open in the paint. Jarrett Jack promptly switches over to take on Thompson, but this left Kevin Love open in the corner. Of course, LeBron found him and he hit the easy shot.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a living off of the catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Most LeBron-led teams do. Not the 2018–19 Los Angeles Lakers, though.