The Los Angeles Lakers get to build their team around two of the greatest offensive masterminds in league history with Luka Doncic and LeBron James at the helm. At age 26, Doncic is the future of the franchise, while James has made it clear that, at 40, it’s on him to adjust his game to his new co-star.
But the combined IQ of the Luka-LeBron pairing has been incredible to watch through its first few months. The Lakers did not get the result they wanted in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, losing in the first round in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they saw great things from both Doncic and James that make this an exciting summer to try and build a championship contender.
Luka has been one of LeBron’s favorite players for several years now, and the latter explained exactly what he loves about Doncic and what is required of him and his Lakers teammates sharing the floor with him on the latest episode of “Mind the Game” with Steve Nash:
“It’s always his pace. It’s always been his pace. It’s never been a game where it’s like ‘you can speed me up, he can speed me up, this bigger guy can be more physical, this smaller guy can get underneath me.’ It’s like, he moves at his own pace. And he’s never ever been on the floor, where he’s allowed someone to dictate where they’re going to put him on the floor. It’s always been the opposite. And for us, we all working off of that, we’ve just got to stay ready. We’ve seen throughout his career, there’s plays and passes that only certain guys in league history have ever been able to make. And for us, we just have to make sure that we continue to stay ready, especially when you’re going against handsy teams, athletic teams and teams that try to speed you up. We always have to keep our head on a swivel, because you just never know when the ball may find you. And that’s a good thing, that’s keeping the defense off balance and it’s a great thing to have that.”
Doncic can manipulate a defense as well as any player in league history, and the last player to be able to do that the way he does is his teammate, James. And that’s certainly part of the reason why LeBron is able to adjust his game to fit Luka, because he is likely thinking 10 steps ahead the same way Doncic does.
The first full season of Doncic and James together should only increase their chemistry, and with that, the offensive ceiling of the Lakers as a team.
Luka Doncic calls it unbelievable to play with LeBron James
Luka Doncic never wanted to be dealt by the Dallas Mavericks, and he believed that Texas would be his home for the entirety of his NBA career.
However, Dallas management felt otherwise and traded him to the Lakers. In a shocking turn of events, Doncic formed an intriguing pairing with LeBron James, but also an educational relationship.
As James nears the end of his career, Doncic is next in line to lead L.A. in whatever is next. He can use this time to learn from a 22-year veteran but also play alongside an ‘unbelievable’ teammate that is one of the greatest of all-time.
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