LeBron James and Luka Doncic will be shoulder to shoulder once again for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2025/26 NBA season. 2025/26 will be the first full season for Doncic as a Laker and for James to be by his side from the start of the campaign.
The two superstars of the game will be riding on high expectations from the front office staff, the fans, and the city of Los Angeles, so it will be interesting to see how the season pans out for the James-Doncic pairing.
The Lakers made two valuable additions to the team during the offseason in the form of Marcus Smart and DeAndre Ayton, while keeping most of their earlier roster strength intact.
What Was LeBron James’ Reaction to Luka Dončić’s Transformation?
During the first media day ahead of the training camp, James joined ESPN LA 710 AM for an exclusive interview to discuss some aspects of the upcoming NBA season. During the discussion with the show’s hosts, James was asked to provide his honest opinions on Doncic’s unbelieveable body transformation and whether he had discussed the same with Doncic.
James said, “I need to get on his routine now. No, I have not I have not got an opportunity to talk to him I probably won’t even bring it up. Listen the proof is in the pudding. I mean I could look right at it and you know, I think you know everybody look at it from a basketball aspect, but I just think he’s I hope he’s just happy about how he feels.”
He added, “I mean, that’s what that’s the most important how he feels and you know every day he wakes up I think he’s in a great place. He had a great summer, you know at Euro basket, you know with Slovenia and you know Hopefully we carry it on to the season.”
In the Euro basketball championship in the summer, Doncic reached the quarterfinals, where his side went down against the eventual tournament champions, Germany. The former Dallas Mavericks star had moved to Los Angeles in one of the most high-profile midseason trades last year in the NBA’s recent history.
What Are LeBron’s Expectations for the Revamped Lakers Roster?
The interviewer asked James what his expectations were from his teammates heading into the new NBA season, with two great additions to the roster and an overall well-rounded squad.
James explained, “It’s all about the details not skipping nothing You know, we have to work to perfection every single day and is it gonna be perfect every day? Absolutely not But if we grind and we work towards perfection and not skip the details. Then once we get out in the game format We’re gonna know exactly what we need to be doing hitting on both cylinders on all cylinders both offensively and defensively.”
He added, “Coming out of timeouts ATO’s, you know, what we’re going in if we may be able to make a switch You know what our defensive schemes on the fly. We have to be ready for all of that. So, we have the minds here, you know There should be no excuse why we can’t make things happen on the fly with the brains and the minds that we have here.”
James concluded, “You know and the guy like Smart that’s a great last name for you know.” For him, it’s about staying sharp every day and not skipping steps, because that’s what will carry them through.
