Lebron and Luka’s New Look Lakers
Hello, everyone. This is Brogan LaRose M’26 with another article about the NBA. Today, I will be covering the Los Angeles Lakers and how their new look with Luka Doncic has been going so far. Lots of Lakers talk in this
one, so here we go!
Los Angeles Lakers current position The Doncic and LeBron James experiment has kicked off after the 2025 All-Star Break. So far, both themselves and the Lakers have lived up to the hype. While it took Doncic a little bit of time to get used to the culture of the Lakers, things are looking up.
To start, Doncic made his Lakers debut against the Utah Jazz and racked up 14 points, five rebounds and four assists on five of 14 shooting. For this game being his first back from a calf injury, it was understandable
that Doncic needed to shake off some of the rust following his absence.
The Lakers would coast to a 132-113 over Utah. The Lakers would play the Jazz again in Salt Lake City. This time, the Jazz were able to redeem
themselves and come away with the win of 131-119.
Lauri Markkanen dropped 32 points, Jordan Clarkson added 21, and Keyonte George had 20 points and 10 assists coming off the bench. Rui Hachimura, who tallied 19 points, led the Lakers; James dropped in 18 with
six rebounds and seven assists, and Doncic notched 16 with four rebounds and four assists. After this, the Lakers returned to Los Angeles with a home game on the horizon against the Charlotte Hornets.
This game was re-scheduled from Jan. 9 due to the L.A. Wildfires. At this game, some social media users overreacted to Doncic’s play and speculated about his mentality regarding the trade. The Hornets defeated the Lakers in an upset road win, 100-97. Miles Bridges dropped 29 points, connecting on nine of his 22 shot attempts; Bridges also tallied six rebounds and five steals.
LaMelo Ball had himself a night as well. Ball scored 27 points while grabbing five boards and dropping six dimes. The efforts by these two helped the Hornets get their 14th win of the season. While the Hornets are still in rebuild mode, players such as Bridges and Ball will help foster the young core of the Hornets in the future with other role players such as Tre
Mann, Mark Williams, Tidjane Salaun and Nick Smith Jr.
For the Lakers, James had 26 points to go with seven rebounds and 11 assists in the losing effort. For Doncic, while almost getting a triple-double, he only shot five of 18 for the field. Some insiders started questioning
if he was in the right frame of mind after the shocking trade between himself and Anthony Davis.
Some went as far as to say that Doncic’s mental health would follow him and could affect his play heading towards the post-season. Others suggested that this was an adjustment period and that he should give it some time before buying into the Lakers’s system.
In the next game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Doncic would not suit up due to injury management on his calf. Regardless, this game was a James show from the start to the end. James finished this game with 40 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, leading the Lakers to a 110-102.
Austin Reaves joined in on this performance. Reaves tallied up 32 points while dishing out seven assists. This performance showcased Reaves as the third option that the Lakers will need in the post-season in big moments. Deni Avdija, who notched up 28 points, led the Trail Blazers.
Other positive contributions for the Blazers included Toumani Camara with
19 points, Scott Henderson with 12 points, and Shaedon Sharpe with 11. The Trail Blazers are another team with a solid young core, and it will be interesting to see how the franchise turns out in the next few years. Then, we get to the Lakers game
against the Denver Nuggets. This battle has led Lakers fans to believe there is a legitimate shot to win an 18th NBA Championship.
The Lakers destroyed the Nuggets 123-100 with contributions throughout the starting lineups. Doncic scored 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while James dropped 25 points.
Reaves and Hachimura also played well, scoring 23 and 21 points, respectively. Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets, scoring 24 points in the losing
effort. Nonetheless, the Lakers are showing their ability