Luka Doncic suddenly joined the Los Angeles Lakers roster. That move from the Dallas Mavericks allowed him to play with one of the NBA stars he admires the most: LeBron James.
In just one week, Doncic’s life and destiny completely changed. The NBA franchises made the trade in secret. The revelation shocked the fans of both teams, since no one expected the Slovenian’s transfer. Now, the Lakers coach has spoken about the connection between Doncic and James.
A favorable change for the Lakers star
According to the report by Firstsportz, the Mavericks had just reached the NBA Finals, so fans didn’t understand why they let go of a key player like Luka Doncic. Apparently, the decision was tied to his physical condition, as he had gained too much weight.
La química que están teniendo LeBron James y Luka Doncic: con solo una mirada, la dice dónde va a ir el balón pic.twitter.com/T3T5vhCZuD
— Pasion Basket (@PasionBasketNBA) March 1, 2025
That became an incentive for the Slovenian, who trained hard and lost weight during the offseason in Dallas. The 26-year-old surprised fans with an impressive physical transformation, which will help him stand out more on the court with the Lakers.
In fact, Lakers coach Greg St. Jean told Basket News that the trade gave Doncic a great opportunity.
“I always find this: iron sharpens iron. When you’re surrounded by really good players, it’s like when you’re a coach and you’re around a really good coach. You can’t help but feel motivated to keep improving your craft,” St. Jean said.
With this, he suggested that Luka Doncic sees LeBron James as a source of inspiration. In fact, the 5-time All-NBA star is in excellent physical condition at 40 years old. That is undoubtedly a huge motivation for the Slovenian.
