After just a handful of games with the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic is cementing himself as one of LeBron James’ best running mates ever.
In his fourth game with the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic took control, demanding that the offense run through him now that he’s comfortable with his new team. JJ Redick obliged, and Doncic offered 32 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in a blowout win over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
With Luka garnering a lot of attention from the Nuggets’ defense, LeBron James was able to play with more space and without the ball in his hands, finishing with 25 points on 11-19 shooting. Doncic and James had no trouble finding one another, and the Lakers have a clear recipe for success not just now, but also in the long-term future even after James hangs up his sneakers.
For now, the Lakers are still James’ team, but their newest addition brings out the best in one of the greatest to ever step on a court.
Despite being one of the best passers in the game and boasting one of the best basketball IQs the league has ever seen, James’ physical skillset makes him an elite slasher more than anything else. Having a perimeter player like Doncic who can open up lanes for James without clogging the paint like Anthony Davis did will pay dividends for James, and he and Doncic are already a formidable duo.
“I think what LeBron said after the game really stood out, which is ‘I’m a great wide receiver, he’s a great quarterback,’” ESPN’s Alan Hahn on Get Up. “And I think that’s what they’re starting to learn. LeBron will run the routes, and when you’re small you got to play faster, and so you let Luka get the ball, and who’s running the ball? The 40-year-old!”
Even at his advanced age, James can run up the floor with the best of them, and having an oversized guard like Doncic who can secure a rebound and then push a pass up the court only makes James more dangerous, and vice versa, as Doncic can also blitz up the court when James corrals a rebound.
Between Davis, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade, James has played with his fair share of high-level talent, although Doncic is a top-five player in the world, and is by far the most talented superstar James has ever linked up with.
On top of that, Doncic’s ability to take some pressure off James–which was never an option on the Heatles–will allow The King to continue to age with grace and get the most out of the final years of his career.
“The point is that LeBron is recognizing the skillset that he has with him and how to play with it, and you can argue Luka might be the better fit with LeBron than anybody he’s ever played with, including Dwyane Wade,” declared Hahn. “Wade didn’t have the perimeter game that Luka has. They were both clutch, they both certainly knew in the big moment, but the passing ability that Luka brings could unlock even a little more of LeBron.”
Doncic, despite being a burly 6-foot-6, is the best true point guard in the NBA and is the true floor general James has never played with. Irving didn’t step into that role until his post-Cleveland Cavaliers days, and Doncic is tailor-made for James as the Lakers prepare for a playoff run.
