Luka Doncic and LeBron James can’t find the right chemistry. You don’t need to be a seasoned NBA writer to make that determination. The Los Angeles Lakers are disjointed whenever Luka Doncic and LeBron James are on the court together.
When the Lakers made the blockbuster trade to acquire Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, one of the points of apprehension was how LeBron would adjust to having another alpha dog on the team.
So far, the results have been disappointing to say the least.
The Lakers are stuck in some kind of quantum realm where they can’t seem to escape at the moment. As much as they’d love to move forward with their Luka Doncic succession plan, they have a dinosaur in the room that needs to be addressed.
LeBron is now in his 22nd season in the NBA. He is 41 years old. He’s in the final year of his Lakers contract, and unless there’s a dramatic turn of events, it appears it’ll be his last run in purple and gold. Even though the numbers are still solid (21-5-7 and shooting 49% from the field), he is no longer elite. He finished eighth in the All-Star voting, which suggests many basketball fans are ready to move on from him.
The best analogy for the current relationship status between the Lakers and Luka and LeBron is like having your ex stay in the guest house while you live in the main house with your new bride.
At some point, the Lakers must make a clean break from LeBron. Nothing personal. It’s just business. In order for Doncic to get a full grip on the Laker kingdom and be the ultimate decision maker, he can’t be looking over his shoulder and tiptoeing around the former king.
You can clearly see that Doncic is doing his best not to step on LeBron’s toes, which is admirable, but it is also making it an awkward transition. And that awkward relationship is spilling onto the court.
As much as pundits and Lakers fans would love to blame the flawed roster for all the team’s woes, the biggest issue facing the team is the LeBron-Luka dynamic. The Lakers are a bottom-five offensive team when Luka and LeBron are on the court together.
Doncic’s game doesn’t mesh well with LeBron’s game. They have similar skill sets, and both need the ball in their hands to be effective. It was the same conundrum in Miami when LeBron and his good friend Dwyane Wade had to figure things out on the fly. Wade took a step back and allowed LeBron to take the lead. But that was LeBron in his prime. That was 15 years ago. The shoe is on the other foot now. Luka is now the main driver, and LeBron has to sit in the passenger seat, and he’s having a tough time with that reality.
To his credit, LeBron is making an effort in playing more off the ball. As much as he’d love to have the ball in his hands all the time, he understands there can be only one quarterback. Luka is the starting quarterback now.
But James is most effective when he’s the primary signal caller. He has been the offensive hub for the majority of his 22-year career, so it’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks. So, the Lakers essentially are playing with two quarterbacks, making it extremely difficult to find consistency and cohesion.
For the Luka-LeBron partnership to work, one of them must be a high-level role player and do the dirty work, such as defending at a high level, rebounding the ball, and bringing energy on both ends. It has to be LeBron to take on this role, and he can no longer do these things at this stage of his career.
The Lakers had at least an identity when Doncic and Austin Reaves were playing Batman and Robin. They were beating teams by outscoring them. With King James in the mix, the Lakers have lost their superpower. They’re not connected on defense, and they’re not connected on offense.
The quickest fix, as well as the most logical approach to restore order, is to let LeBron walk away and retool the roster in the offseason.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said at the start of the season that he would love to have LeBron retire in L.A. James has not indicated that 2026 would be his final year, and the Lakers do not seem to be in a rush to bring him back.
LeBron’s departure will open up $53 million in cap room. Pelinka can either use that cap flexibility to sign free agents or facilitate a blockbuster trade. Keep that phone line open in case Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic calls.
Bringing back LeBron for a farewell tour wouldn’t be the worst decision in the world, but it would delay the reset another year. The Lakers are better off reshaping the roster with Doncic and Reaves as the main building blocks and surrounding them with a center who can protect the rim and athletic wing defenders to cover up their defensive deficiencies.
L.A. had high expectations entering the 2025-26 season. Doncic came into camp in phenomenal shape and agreed to a $165 million contract extension that would keep him in a Laker uniform through the 2029 season.
For about the first two months of the season, the Luka Laker plan was cruising down the 110 freeway without much traffic. Doncic and Reaves were both cooking defenses like top chefs. The Lakers were averaging a blistering 119.6 points per game and sprinted to a 15-4 record. Doncic averaged 33.6 points per game while Reaves averaged 24.5 points, including a 51-point outing against Sacramento.
The high watermark of the Lakers’ blistering start came during a late stretch in November when L.A. pieced together a seven-game winning streak. The Lakers were able to mask their shortcomings defensively with a high-octane offense that was blitzing teams from all angles.
During this blistering start, LeBron — who missed the first 14 games due to a right-side sciatica nerve injury — was still working his way back to his normal basketball routine. He took a backseat to Luka and Reaves.
Just when things appeared to be on easy street, the Lakers hit heavy traffic in mid-December when Reaves’ body started to break down. Reaves suffered a calf strain, which limited his time on the court. He briefly returned to action but reaggravated the calf injury on Christmas Day against Houston, forcing him to miss 19 games.
Since starting the season 15-4, the Lakers have a 20-20 record in their last 40 games, and their scoring average dipped to 108.3 points since the NBA All-Star break, which is seven points below their season average. Defense remains poor, but the team’s greatest strength, which is their ability to put the ball in the basket, has hit a snag.
The Lakers are what they are at this point in the season. It’s too late for trades or major pick-ups. JJ Redick and the coaching staff must play the cards they are handed.