Much has been made about Luka Doncic getting the opportunity to team up with his idol LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers. But being traded to the Lakers also reunited Doncic with a good friend and former teammate in Dorian Finney-Smith.
The two spent nearly four seasons together with the Dallas Mavericks with Finney-Smith being the recipient of many Doncic assists in his time there. And now the two are back together in the purple and gold and Doncic is very happy about that.
In an interview with Allie Clifton of Spectrum SportsNet, Doncic said he was excited about being able to play with Finney-Smith once again as he feels the two grew up together in Dallas:
“10. That’s my guy man, that’s my guy,” Doncic said when asked to rate his excitement out of 10. “We basically like, I feel like we started playing basketball together in Dallas. We grew up as players together so I’m excited to play with him.”
The two have a great relationship off the court as well and a great moment recently occurred on Instagram. In response to a Doncic comment about his jersey number after being traded to the Lakers, Finney-Smith posted a picture of Doncic with his Lakers uniform saying that he was saving the number 77 for the new Lakers star:
— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) February 5, 2025
Having a familiar face in Los Angeles stands to greatly benefit both Doncic and the Lakers overall. Finney-Smith will be able to help make his transition smoother and the two have an established chemistry so he has a great idea of where to go when Luka has the ball and how to play off him.
Finney-Smith has begun to grow into his role over the last couple of weeks as a defender and 3-point shooter and having Doncic will only allow for him to thrive even more and make things easier for Luka as he learns the ropes with his new team.
LeBron James believes playing with Luka Doncic on Lakers will be ‘special’
While Dorian Finney-Smith knows his role next to Luka Doncic, the same can’t be said for LeBron James. Both superstars are used to having the ball in their hands and creating everything and many aren’t sure how the two will work together on the court.
But LeBron himself isn’t worried about that as he feels the pairing of he and Doncic will be ‘special,’ adding that he is happy to have him in L.A. and that they will be able to make life easier for their Lakers teammates.
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