LeBron James and Luka Doncic shone in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 123-110 win over the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Saturday. James and Doncic were in sync from the get-go, with the latter finding the former in the opening minutes on a full-court pass. We have seen them connect in that manner on multiple occasions in their short time as teammates and James was asked about that connection postgame.
“I’m a natural-born wide receiver and he’s a natural-born quarterback, so it fits perfectly,” James said. “I’ve been running the floor and running lanes pretty much my whole life and he’s been throwing great passes pretty much his whole life so it’s not hard to get a rhythm when it comes to that. It’s just all about eye contact and him being the great quarterback he is and me being the recipient of it.”
You can see Doncic finding James with an inch-perfect pass below.
THE FUN HAS BEGUN ON ABC 🍿
LUKA lead pass ➡️ LEBRON hammer time 🔨 pic.twitter.com/8DmndLh2yn
— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2025
This was very much a sign of things to come in this game. While Doncic made a great pass there, the first quarter was all about his scoring. The five-time All-Star had 16 points in the first quarter to help the Lakers jump out to an early double-digit lead.
The Nuggets then threatened to mount a comeback after halftime with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, only for the Lakers to go on a 10-0 run to surge ahead yet again. They then proceeded to keep the hosts at arm’s length the rest of the way to improve to 34-21 on the season.
James had a fine showing against the Nuggets with 25 points (11-19 FG), nine rebounds, five assists, one steal, and three blocks. He was overshadowed by Doncic, however, as the Slovenian recorded 32 points (10-22 FG), 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and a block.
James didn’t mind that one bit, of course. He was thrilled to see Doncic finally look like himself in a Lakers jersey.
“That’s the Luka that we all have been watching over the last seven years, especially (when) he gets that left side of the floor stepback going,” James said. “Pretty damn dangerous and big-time game from him tonight.”
It sure was a big-time game and you should expect to see Doncic have these kinds of nights on a consistent basis moving forward. The 25-year-old is finding his footing on his new team after spending over a month on the sidelines and that should worry the rest of the NBA.
As for the connection between the two superstars, Doncic was also asked postgame about him finding James on those passes.
“It’s going to take some time but I mean even the first game we had some of those,” Doncic said. “I’m happy to get my first alley-oop with him.”
You’d think these two connecting on alley-oops like they did against the Nuggets would become a nightly occurrence over time.
This Luka ➡️ LeBron lob capped off a BIG first half for the @Lakers duo 🤝 pic.twitter.com/mQQO1jsEHq
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 23, 2025
That was just beautiful to watch and James and Doncic have made the Lakers must-watch television for all the right reasons. They’ll be in action next against the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10 PM ET and expect fireworks as Doncic looks to make a point against his former team.
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