He has brought new life to the Lakers since his arrival, but LeBron James is more than thrilled to have Luka Doncic.
Doncic had 29 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists in last week’s 134-127 victory for Los Angeles over Memphis, aiding the team to a bounce back performance after a loss to the Bulls. He allows James to be more of a facilitator to where the Superman cape does not have to always come on. Doncic’s emergence also gave James an opportunity to take his time in recovering from a groin injury. He has been a double-double’s machine since joining the Lakers on February 2 — keeping it out of the NBA’s Play-In Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. James had former NBA star, Steve Nash, on his Mind The Game podcast.
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Kendrick Perkins calls out Luka Doncic’s poor defensive effort
The 40-year-old detailed what excites him the most about playing with Doncic.
Some guys just breathe confidence. Luka has that.
Episode 1 drops TOMORROW, 9am ET.
????: https://t.co/MTZFWW4SfT pic.twitter.com/NZTl1A6Nul— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) March 31, 2025
“He plays the game how I’ve always wanted to inspire the [next] generation to play the game,” James said. “There is nothing predetermined. I have always loved the players that breathe so much confidence into his teammates that make them believe they are better than what the f*** they really are. Luka has done that for seven years. Luka has that. He learned that from growing up in Slovenia to heading over to Madrid and learning the game the right way and playing it at a professional at 13, 14 years old. He brought that same level, that same game to the NBA from day one.”
James puts Doncic in a category with himself, Nash, and Chris Paul when it comes to inspiring confidence in teammates.
He is trying to earn his first NBA championship in his seventh season
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.
