Luka Doncic Praises LeBron James, 'Had So Much Fun' Being Lakers Teammates After Mavs Trade

While their time together didn't result in a deep playoff run, Luka Dončić looked back fondly on his run with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers.

"He just let me be me, and I really respect that," he told Sports Illustrated 's Chris Mannix . "And the way he approached the game with us, it was unbelievable. It was very respectable. I had so much fun playing with him. And, like I said, I think we could have made some noise in the playoffs if me and [Austin Reaves] don't get injured. I think we had a chance."

Broadcaster sorry for false LeBron rumor

The Luka-LeBron tandem is bound to be a big what if among NBA fans. They were only teammates for a year and a half, and Dončić acknowledged to Mannix there were some complications due to him joining the Lakers midseason.

"We didn't really get time to practice or get to know each other or how we wanted to play," he said.

James also missed a stretch of seven straight games in March 2025, costing the Lakers valuable time they needed for their two stars to jell on the court.

Injuries then presented a roadblock to Los Angeles' championship ambitions in 2025-26. Dončić and James missed 18 and 22 games, respectively, in the regular season, and the former was sidelined for the entirety of the postseason.

If Luka had somehow found his way to Southern California earlier in his career, the Lakers might've had a longer runway to build around he and LeBron.

When the two were at such different points in their careers, this was a formula that looked better on paper than it did in reality.