LeBron James is getting a ton of blame for the Lakers' failures this season, but Kent Bazemore is coming to his teammate's defense ... telling TMZ Sports the King did everything he could to help L.A. win.
A quick Google search of "LeBron Lakers" will show experts and analysts pointing the finger at the 4-time champ over the team's inability to make the playoffs ... especially after his reported influence on acquiring Russell Westbrook, an experiment that crashed and burned.
But, Bazemore wants to hear none of that talk -- sticking up for what James has done on-and-off the court.
"The dude was third in the league in scoring," Baze said at LAX this week. "What else do you want him to do? He put his body through a lot this year to be there for us."
37-year-old James finished with 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists a game this season ... bringing him 1,325 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time list.
"He's chasing Kareem," Kent added. "He's done a lot for the game. He's given a platform to a lot of people. He's changing the world."
When asked if LeBron deserves more respect for what he's done over the years, Bazemore replied, "100%."
There's more -- we asked the vet, who's a free agent this season, if he'd like to be back with the Purple & Gold next year ... and fans will want to tune in to what he says.