LeBron James and Luka Doncic are both used to operating with the ball in their hands, so it naturally has taken some time for them to gel together on the Los Angeles Lakers.
James said he didn’t have a problem deferring to Doncic and that is exactly what he has done, helping make the transition to a new team much easier for the Slovenian superstar. Combined with Austin Reaves, the Lakers have three ball-dominant players, but there is of course only one ball to go around.
Those three are starting to figure it out though, as was evident during Saturday night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies when they all stuffed the statsheet.
Reaves led all scorers with 31 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block, but Doncic and James were not far behind. Doncic had 29 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and a steal while James finished with 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block. As a trio, they were responsible for 120 of the Lakers’ 134 points in the victory.
Two of those points came on a fastbreak when the Lakers got a steal and then Doncic found James for a dunk. In the process, they essentially recreated James’ iconic photo with Dwyane Wade when they were on the Miami Heat:
LUKA NO-LOOK TO LEBRON ON THE FASTBREAK 🪄
KING JAMES FINISHES WITH THE ONE-HANDED JAM 👑
Lakers put up 72 first-half points!! pic.twitter.com/eObxui472J
— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2025
LUKA 👀🪄
LEBRON 💥😤 https://t.co/zg9Az928eH pic.twitter.com/e6KOjh0dW5
— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2025
LeBron and Luka Doncic really recreated the Dwyane Wade photo
(📸: via @Lakers) pic.twitter.com/eqvYMLr1Le
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 30, 2025
Doncic grew up idolizing James and wanting to play just like him, so now being teammates and getting to drop dimes to the 40-year-old must be a surreal experience. It will also likely be great for Doncic’s career as he can learn a lot from LeBron when it comes to longevity and taking care of his body.
JJ Redick challenged Lakers star trio before Grizzlies game
After the Lakers’ win over the Grizzlies, head coach JJ Redick revealed he had a meeting with LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves where he challenged the trio to play well together offensively.
“We challenged all three of them when we get to their three-man actions to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity,” Redick said. “We were able to get some great stuff in the fourth quarter off that and create advantages we envisioned creating when we put those three guys together.”
While building chemistry takes time, James, Doncic and Reaves definitely seem to be making strides as the end of the regular season nears.
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