After spending seven years as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James departed in free agency this summer and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a veteran minimum contract worth $7.9 million total over two seasons. For the last 1.5 years of his tenure with the Lakers, James shared the court alongside Luka Dončić. They appeared in 72 regular-season games together and Los Angeles posted a 47-25 record in those contests.
When James left the Lakers, he contacted Dončić, who expressed his gratitude
for their abbreviated stint together donning the purple and gold.
“And I reached out to him. Thank you for everything,” Dončić said. “Obviously, it was amazing being his teammate. Learned so many things”
James’ exit makes Dončić the official face of the franchise. Los Angeles significantly overhauled the roster this offseason by signing a bevy of complementary archetypes for him and retaining his co-star in the backcourt, Austin Reaves. Despite now leading the NBA’s most renowned organization, Dončić doesn’t see the responsibility as newfound weight on his shoulders and said it never suddenly hit him at any point that he is the face of this franchise.
“Obviously, they’re gonna say it’s a lot more pressure,” Dončić said. “But it’s not really pressure, it’s an honor.”
Watching James and Dončić join forces for 1.5 seasons was a fascinating experience. James is the greatest men’s basketball player of all time while Dončić is one of the most revered prospects in modern history and among the league’s top players currently. Both are splendidly gifted playmakers who can spoon-feed teammates the easiest of shots.
Yet for all their collective passing feel and general talent, they didn’t always mesh on the court. Their synergy often fluctuated night to night or week to week and it never seemed like they enjoyed a lengthy runway of harmonic hoops together. Much of that was due to external factors.
They both missed some time, which cut into their opportunities to assimilate, and the unexpected nature of the Dončić trade threw the Lakers’ roster into serious flux over the past 1.5 years. It always felt mismatched and jumbled, with Dončić, James and Reaves covering up for a lot of flaws elsewhere to propel Los Angeles to 50-plus wins both seasons.
Regardless, their shared tenure as Lakers was cool to watch as a basketball fan and it’s nice to hear their relationship seems to be on good terms.
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.
