Luka Doncic made his Los Angeles Lakers debut on Monday night against the Utah Jazz, with all types of fanfare surrounding it. He played 24 minutes in the blowout win — the Lakers’ sixth in a row — and finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists while clearly still getting his legs under him. But he and LeBron James were poetry in motion together.
In the 19 minutes that the two shared the floor last night, the Lakers had an offensive rating of 139.0 and a defensive rating of 95.2, good enough for a 43.8 net rating. It was clear that the collective IQ between LeBron and Luka was off the charts and the two could get whatever they wanted against the Jazz defense.
And perhaps the moment that allowed James and Doncic to play so freely together came from the pregame huddle, when the Lakers veteran superstar had a message specifically for his new co-star, via SportsCenter:
"Luka, be your f—ing self. Don't fit in, fit the f— out."
-LeBron to Luka 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/qj8Tbk8M8R
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 11, 2025
Luka spoke after the game about that moment in the pre-game huddle and what it meant for him to see LeBron say that to him.
“I mean, it’s like I said before. It’s special,” Doncic said. “You know, for him to say something like that feels amazing. Give him confidence. After that speech, it was chills. So I was just happy to be part.”
And the new Lakers star — like everyone else — noticed immediately how well the two might fit next to one another.
“He’s special,” Doncic said of James. “He sees the game in a different way than a lot of people. His IQ is insane. Having two guys like that on the court, I think is going to help the whole team out.”
Luka and LeBron are arguably two of the three highest IQ players in today’s game, alongside Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, so anyone questioning the fit of the two players is not taking that into account.
It was an extremely small sample size on Monday, but at least on offense, the Lakers are seemingly going to get whatever looks they feel like getting.
Luka Doncic appreciates special reception from fans
Right after the game, Luka Doncic spoke on the court about being nervous going into the game, but felt so welcomed by the fans, players and the Lakers organization. He called the reception special and it was clear that it eased his nerves to see how instantly beloved he is by the Laker faithful.
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