{"id":128384,"date":"2025-09-08T08:26:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128384\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T08:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:26:08","slug":"lebron-james-sends-message-to-lakers-teammate-luka-doncic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128384\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James Sends Message to Lakers Teammate Luka Doncic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2198818932-e1739924045311.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Lakers\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>LeBron James and Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers talk during the third quarter of a game against the Utah Jazz.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"195\" data-end=\"630\"><a class=\"decorated-link cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/luka-doncic\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"195\" data-end=\"266\">Luka Doncic<\/a> is putting on a show this summer. The <a class=\"decorated-link cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"305\" data-end=\"371\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> star is carrying Slovenia through EuroBasket with the kind of brilliance that has the rest of the NBA watching closely. And even though he\u2019s thousands of miles away, <a class=\"decorated-link cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/lebron-james\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"538\" data-end=\"611\">LeBron James<\/a> is watching too.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"632\" data-end=\"1253\">LeBron showed love to his new teammate after Doncic dropped another monster performance against Italy. He shared his support in an <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Fullcourtpass\/status\/1964780992595722651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1964780992595722651%7Ctwgr%5E981382b78a0d66d1f030761a1619f8c16c1fb3f6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Ffannation%2Fnba%2Ffastbreak%2Fnews%2Fluka-doncic-s-dominant-showing-lands-lebron-james-support-01k4kgqfj0nd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\" data-start=\"763\" data-end=\"1116\">Instagram story<\/a> that immediately got fans buzzing. The LeBron-Luka pairing is only in year one. But it already feels like something bigger is brewing.<\/p>\n<p>Lakers Star Takes Over EuroBasket<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1300\" data-end=\"1527\">On Sunday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ULzLtN6Z2d8&amp;ab_channel=FIBABasketball\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Doncic lit up Italy for 42 points and 10 rebounds in an 84\u201377 Slovenia win<\/a>. It was his sixth outing of the tournament. He\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiba.basketball\/en\/events\/fiba-eurobasket-2025\/teams\/slovenia\/196610-luka-doncic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">averaging 34 points, 7.2 assists, and 3.2 steals while shooting 46 percent from the field<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1529\" data-end=\"1724\">The outside shot hasn\u2019t quite fallen\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiba.basketball\/en\/events\/fiba-eurobasket-2025\/teams\/slovenia\/196610-luka-doncic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">just 32 percent from deep on nearly six attempts a game<\/a>. Still, he\u2019s leading EuroBasket in scoring, playing with a confidence that suggests an MVP season is on the horizon.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1726\" data-end=\"1857\">This isn\u2019t just about international reps. It\u2019s about sharpening his game ahead of the Lakers\u2019 season. And Doncic looks locked in.<\/p>\n<p>A Shocking Trade Still Rippling Through the NBA<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1918\" data-end=\"2124\">It wasn\u2019t long ago that Doncic was the face of the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/dallas-mavericks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Mavericks<\/a>. Then came the blockbuster deal. One of the most stunning trades in league history sent Doncic to Los Angeles at last season\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2126\" data-end=\"2393\">In 28 regular-season games with the Lakers, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/luka-doncic\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Doncic averaged 28.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in 35 minutes<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/luka-doncic\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">He shot 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from three<\/a>. He was everything the Lakers hoped for\u2014an immediate superstar presence next to LeBron.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2395\" data-end=\"2498\">But the season ended in disappointment. A first-round exit. A pairing that was still finding its way.<\/p>\n<p>The Future of LeBron and Luka<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5376269\" class=\"wp-image-5376269 size-featured-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2212306813-e1752598990708.jpg\" alt=\"LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers\" width=\"780\" height=\"437\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5376269\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyLeBron James chirps at a referee as he walks to the bench with teammate Luka Doncic.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2541\" data-end=\"2696\">Now comes the full season. LeBron is on a player option. The clock is ticking. This might be the only year the Lakers get with this duo at full strength.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2698\" data-end=\"2930\">That\u2019s why this summer matters. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Fullcourtpass\/status\/1964780992595722651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1964780992595722651%7Ctwgr%5E981382b78a0d66d1f030761a1619f8c16c1fb3f6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Ffannation%2Fnba%2Ffastbreak%2Fnews%2Fluka-doncic-s-dominant-showing-lands-lebron-james-support-01k4kgqfj0nd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">LeBron\u2019s support from afar<\/a> is more than just a repost. It\u2019s a signal. He sees Doncic\u2019s dominance. He knows the chemistry is building. And he knows their window might be shorter than anyone realizes.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2932\" data-end=\"3189\">Training camp begins later this month. That\u2019s when the Instagram stories and summer highlights turn into reality. LeBron and Luka. Side by side. A pairing that could change the course of Lakers history. Or end up as one of the league\u2019s greatest what ifs.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/keithwatkinsnba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Keith Watkins<\/a> Keith Watkins is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. He previously wrote for FanSided, NBA Analysis Network, and Last Word On Sports. Keith is based in Bangkok, Thailand. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/keithwatkinsnba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Keith Watkins<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LeBron James and Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers talk during the third quarter of a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-128384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}