Since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic, there has been a clear shift in the organization, prioritizing his timeline over that of LeBron James.
Considering James is turning 41 later this season and in his 23rd season, he understands this shift and has been supportive.
When Doncic made his Lakers debut, James allowed for him to be the last starter introduced in L.A.’s lineup before the Slovenian star then insisted it switch back to LeBron for the rest of the 2024-25 season.
James missed the first 14 games of the 2025-26 season due to a sciatica issue though and Doncic still got the Lakers off to an exceptional start. When LeBron did return on Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, he was the first Lakers starter introduced by public address announcer Lawrence Tanter with Doncic going last:
LeBron was the first starter introduced for the #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/26SaYG0zrZ
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) November 19, 2025
As it turns out, James not only supported himself going first and Doncic going last, but he actually pushed for it, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
LeBron James stood out by fitting in during his season debut – for example, a source tells me he pushed for Luka Dončić to be introduced last with the starters. James was intro’d first https://t.co/ZHd9xfPzxN
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) November 19, 2025
This is a cool gesture by James as he has gone above and beyond to welcome Doncic to Los Angeles since the trade went down.
There was some uncertainty surrounding LeBron’s future in the organization this past offseason with the Lakers shifting its focus to Luka and perhaps not going all-in to compete for a championship this season. Now that the Lakers are off to a great start though, all of that noise is behind them and James and Doncic are both focused on how to lead this team into title contention.
Luka Doncic: sharing court with LeBron James on Lakers is special
Luka Doncic grew up idolizing LeBron James and now getting the chance to team up with him on the Lakers is not something he is taking for granted.
“Honestly, just sharing the court with him. It’s the 23rd season. It’s insane,” Doncic said after the win over the Jazz. “Just sharing the court with him is special. He sees things that other people can’t. He’s here to help us all, so it’s amazing. It’s only his first game back, and he plays amazing, so I’m excited to play some more.”
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