'Strive for greatness' was LeBron's message to Doncic in 2018. And as teammates, that won't change

 

[February 04, 2025]  By TIM REYNOLDS

Luka Doncic came to the NBA in 2018 calling LeBron James his idol. The first time they went head-to-head, Doncic asked James during the game if he could have his jersey. And after that game, Doncic headed to the Los Angeles Lakers locker room to pick up the souvenir.

James wrote a message on the purple jersey.

“Strive for greatness,” James scrawled, those words being his longtime mantra.

Here they are, almost seven years later, set to strive for more greatness — together. The trade that happened over the weekend to send Doncic to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks creates a new superstar pairing for James to see what he can do with. There was James and Kyrie Irving, James and Dwyane Wade, James and Davis and now, James and Doncic.

Will it work? There's only one way for it to be declared the ultimate success. James and Irving won a title together in Cleveland. James and Wade won two titles as teammates in Miami. James and Davis won a championship for the Lakers in the bubble in 2020.

No pressure, Luka.

“I mean, it was amazing,” Doncic said of that day in 2018 when he played against James for the first time. “It was something special for me, for sure. I looked up to him as my idol. It was just great for me. Like I said, it was special, and it will be a day that I remember.”

The Lakers hope James and Doncic have a lot of special days to remember going forward.

The trade became official a few hours after James — who is 40, which is tough to remember at times given the numbers he still puts up — had an absolutely spectacular game at Madison Square Garden: 33 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in a win over the New York Knicks. James became the second player to have such a stat line at MSG. The other was Oscar Robertson, who did it in 1963 and 1965.

James, when he's at his best, is still basically unstoppable. He's had four games of 30 or more points since turning 40, tying Michael Jordan for the most ever in that department. He's averaging 25 points per game since turning 40. He has more triple-doubles as a 40-year-old (two) than every other 40something in NBA history has combined (one).

And now he gets a 25-year-old running mate in Doncic who reminds James of himself in a whole bunch of ways.

 Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic shares a laugh with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James following an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Dec. 25, 2022. Dallas won the game by a final of 124-115. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe, File)

“I love everything about his game,” James said in 2022. “I love everything about him. The way he plays the game reminds me of the way I play the game. We’re just triple threats. We rebound. We pass, which is the No. 1 thing on our mind, trying to keep our teammates engaged and keeping our teammates feeling good on the floor, keeping our teammates in rhythm. And we will put 40 on you, too, if you disrespect us.”

Doncic, like James, has done things the league has pretty much never seen before. Doncic has one of the two 60-point triple-doubles in NBA history; James Harden has the other. Doncic is one of four players to score at least 73 points in a game. His scoring average is third all-time behind only Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

And now he and James are teammates, Batman and Robin in some order, put together to win, win big and win now. James has lasted 22 years in the league because of his extraordinary commitment to fitness and discipline; the Lakers are surely hoping some of that influence rubs off on Doncic, who rarely seems to be in the best of shape — though puts up monster numbers anyway.

It's almost like James was willing this new pairing into existence back in the years when the All-Star Game had captains who drafted their own teams. James kept picking Doncic for his teams, calling him “Luka Magic” a few times in those years. They often sat together on the bench in those games. They warmed up alongside one another. Doncic clearly never stopped looking up to James as an idol.

“He's the best,” Doncic said.

On the night he went to go get that signed jersey, Doncic only made it to the doors of the Lakers' locker room. He's welcome inside the room now. And there's another jersey waiting for him.

It has a different name on the back than the one he got in 2018. A different number, too. But the message will be exactly the same. The Lakers brought Doncic in to strive for greatness.

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