The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their return from the All-Star break with a bang by outlasting the crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers 125-122 on Friday, and no moment may have been more exciting than the cross-court pass from Austin Reaves to LeBron James that turned into an alley-oop for Deandre Ayton. 

The alley-oop in question happened with around nine minutes left in the third quarter when Reaves grabbed a rebound. James saw the play in motion and took off down the court seeing what was about to happen. Ayton followed suit and the pair connected on a dunk that would have made the Showtime Lakers proud. 

"It's all about reason. You always watch LeBron," Ayton said (via Dave McMenamin). "Once he's running, you know you want to run with him. Amazing things are going to happen when you run with LeBron. I just keep running the lane... and he threw it up and it was just good. That was one of the highlights of my career. I needed that one.”

There are a lot of remarkable things that come with James playing in his 23rd season, but his court vision and basketball IQ are near the top of that list.

Those are qualities that James brought with him when he first entered the league, but over two decades of experience across a myriad of different coaches and play styles enhances those qualities even more, leading to moments like Friday's lob where James seems to predict the future of a play and get himself in the best position for it.

The play also speaks to the chemistry that the Lakers as a whole have with each other and the trust they put into James' instincts. For Ayton to know that "good things happen when you run with LeBron," he needs to have a certain level of understanding of what his veteran leader's capable of and trust that he knows what to do.

James has been a favorite lob target of Reaves as well, and the high-scoring guard has some of the best chemistry with James on the team. In an instant, he went from grabbing a rebound to seeing James race down the court and without hesitation launched the ball down the court.

For most players, something that would be a gutsy play with a lot of risk attached, but for Reaves and James, it's simply just another connection. 

That level of chemistry is going to be more important than ever for the Lakers as they head toward the playoffs. The marquis talent that the Lakers have is undeniable, but what's even better than outstanding individual talent is a team that can mesh together to bring the best out of everyone.