LeBron James left Las Vegas with $500,000 in prize money, something that everyone on the Lakers received after their In-Season Tournament win. It seems the billionaire James decided to gamble a little before leaving Vegas, as seen by a fan who was recording but was asked to stop by security guards.

LMAOOOOO @NBA LEBRONS GAMBLING pic.twitter.com/yxtdZOVW9r

— 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙞⚡️ (@PlayoffShai) December 11, 2023

The person who shared the video claims James had $1 million worth of chips with him at the time, which cannot be verified. If that is the case, it’s a tidy profit on the $500K prize money that Lakers players expect to receive by January 15.

James is an adult with a spotless public record. If he’s gambling with his hard-earned money, it’s completely up to him. Nobody should be in a position to judge it as a negative action, especially because NBA players gamble all the time. Most teams spend their time on the road gambling with each other. That can be a bad thing if it leads to the same situation that Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton found themselves in, but is usually a way to pass the time and bond with your teammates.

Most players in the NBA are making millions in their contracts already. James has a net worth of over a billion dollars, so nobody is in a position to criticize what he’s doing. We know Michael Jordan gambled and he still managed to be one of the greatest players of all time.

Lakers Gearing Up For A Challenging December

The Lakers will have to solidify their status as one of the contenders in the West this month after a rocky start to the season was corrected over the last two weeks of November. The In-Season Tournament champions host a depleted Dallas Mavericks tonight.

The Mavericks were without Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, and Grant Williams, along with losing Derrick Jones Jr. to injury in the first quarter of their win over the Grizzlies. They played Luka Doncic for 42 minutes and will face the Lakers on a back-to-back. This is a must-win for the Lakers, who fell to a tough loss to the Mavs earlier this season.

They follow that up with consecutive games against the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama’s first encounter against the man who dubbed him an alien in 2022. Big market clashes with the Knicks and Bulls follow the Spurs game, as the Lakers head into Christmas with a challenging set of fixtures.

The franchise will take on the Timberwolves, Thunder, and then the Celtics on Christmas in just five days. The Hornets will hopefully be a palette cleanser before the Lakers face the Wolves again and then the Pelicans to finish out the year.

The Lakers will hope to win at least seven of these 11 games to keep pace at the top of the West. They’re currently the sixth seed with a record of 14-9 but are just 1.5 games behind the second-seeded Thunder and 3,5 games behind the top-seeded Wolves. with games against both of these teams this month, the Lakers will look to establish themselves as an elite team.

With a mostly healthy roster and the defensive chemistry returning, the Lakers will be excited to see how they end the year.