LeBron James may be the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, but the storied franchise has its next torch bearer in Luka Doncic.
The NBA has been reeling the past couple of weeks as it reconciles the reality that Doncic is now with the Lakers. Even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver admitted even he was surprised to see the Doncic trade go through.
James has never played with another generational playmaker and scorer like himself before, so the sky is the limit for what the two can accomplish together.
While James said he hasn’t thought about playing a little longer next to Doncic, he did acknowledge that his new co-star has reinvigorated him.
“No, I have not given it that type of thought. Just the excitement of being able to add a caliber player like that, a generational talent like that to our franchise, it’s something that’s given me energy,” James said during All-Star Weekend.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do. We only had two games so far, and I believe he’s been on a minutes restriction since he came back from the calf. He hasn’t played since Christmas, I believe. As he continues to get in form, I think we could be really good going down the stretch. But we’ll see what happens.”
James added that it isn’t an issue thinking about wanting to win now while looking ahead to the end of his career.
“I think they merge right into one another. I think I have a great appreciation for the moment because I understand that it’s not going to be a lot of moments going into the future, whenever that time comes.
“You have an opportunity to really, really truly appreciate every single moment and take it all in, no matter the good, the bad, the adversity, whatever comes with the day-to-day process of being a professional and still trying to play for championships, but more importantly just engaging in every single day and every single moment of being able to do what I love to do, and I’ve been doing it for such a long time, been a professional for 22 years. I’ve been playing the game at a level where coaches and referees was involved since I was eight. So, this is something I’ve always dived into and always loved the process. I think they just intertwine together.”
It’s anyone’s guess how much longer James will play, but no matter how old he gets he’ll always be one of the best players on the floor and has someone like Doncic to help him get over the finish line.
Victor Wembanyama calls Luka Doncic trade to Lakers craziest trade he’s ever seen
Even though a couple of weeks have passed, it’s still hard to believe Luka Doncic is on the Los Angeles Lakers alongside LeBron James. Victor Wembanyama, like everyone else, was stunned by the deal and called it the craziest trade he’s ever seen.
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