When Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, he quickly formed a dynamic trio with LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Doncic idolized James as he matured into a professional basketball player and he probably did not predict they would eventually be sharing the floor together as teammates.
Before arriving to Los Angeles, Doncic garnered a global fanbase, similar to James, who is an NBA phenomenon in his own right. With both players sharing a massive stage together, it means a majority of their games are on national television. That has allowed them to gain fans like soccer star in Kylian Mbappe, who listed both James and Doncic in his top five players list, via Bleacher Report:
Mbappe has a respectable list with Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant also mentioned. Those remain top talents in the league with Tatum notably recovering from an Achilles tear ahead of schedule to produce meaningful stats and aid the Boston Celtics to a postseason appearance.
At 37-years-old, Durant showcased this season he can still play high-caliber basketball after playing 78 games while averaging 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists with the Houston Rockets. And despite dealing with lower leg injuries this year, Antetokounmpo remains an upper echelon talent with the Milwaukee Bucks and he may begin a new chapter elsewhere to help redeem himself as a MVP candidate.
In his 23rd season, James put up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 60 games for the Lakers. He carried the his team to a first-round series win over the Rockets, which was impressive for a 41-year-old to do with not much time to prepare after his co-stars when down with injuries.
Lastly, Doncic put together an MVP-caliber season with averages of 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists. As a international player, it makes sense for him to make Mbappe’s list as both played for Real Madrid.
James Worthy discusses how Lakers should build roster around Luka Doncic
General manager Rob Pelinka once again finds himself in a high stakes offseason with pressure to find pieces to fit around Doncic. It will presumably not happen in one summer, but he needs to take substantial steps towards building a well-balanced team.
There already plenty of varying opinions of what L.A. should do with James and Reaves, in terms of whether James should return and at what number along with if Reaves deserves a max contract to remain a Laker.
One opinion that carries weight is Lakers legend James Worthy, who has been covering the team at Spectrum SportsNet for several years. He recently weighed in on how the roster should be constructed around their new star in Doncic.
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