LeBron James Says Lakers 'Nowhere Near' Teams Like Denver, Following Preseason Game

LeBron James believes the Los Angeles Lakers still have work to do after a 124-107 preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

Fans got to witness James in a Lakers jersey for the first time Sunday as he looked as good as ever, posting nine points, three rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes of action during the first half.

The 16-time champions were behind for majority of the game though, and were unable to prevent a defeat in the first game of their new era.

However, things were always going to be a work in progress for a completely new team as James reflected on what the Lakers could take away from the game.

"Yeah, of course you take something away from it," James told reporters after the game. "We've been working our habits for the first week so it's good to go against a different opponent instead of each other."

"We knew there was going to be times where we struggle, not move the ball as we would like to, a couple of breakdowns defensively but it's good to have those things that you can work on, you have something to look forward to."

The 33-year-old also explained how the Lakers would be working on their game one area at a time and that they were always going to be behind teams like Denver, who have had continuity with their team for a couple of years unlike Los Angeles.

"We only went through one or two of our defensive coverages. We have a few in but we want to get very good at one thing before we start switching things up," James added. "And then we only had a few of our offensive sets in as well. Look at Denver, they have continuity, for a few years now so we're nowhere near where they are but we're going to try and continue to work on what we can do."

Lakers head coach Luke Walton, meanwhile, was pleased with the side's performance at times during the game and has called for more consistency in the future.

"We had way too many turnovers, but that comes," Walton told reporters. "We're trying to play fast, we want to push, the turnovers are going to come. But overall, I was pleased with the way we played for segments of the game. Now we just got to get more consistent at playing that way."

James joined the Lakers on a four-year deal earlier this summer and will be tasked with bringing the glory years back to Los Angeles, with the side having not made the playoffs since 2013.

Of course, it would be a massive achievement to take the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals, let alone the NBA Finals, considering the strength of the division.

They will play the Nuggets again Tuesday before meetings with the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers later this week. The real test, however, will come during a preseason double header against the Golden State Warriors next week.