LeBron James dreamed of playing with Luka Doncic for years

Keerthika Uthayakumar: Most triple-doubles this season: Nikola Jokic – 22 Nikola Jokic through 3 quarters – 15 LeBron James – 9 Domantas Sabonis – 8 Jokic has more triple-doubles through three quarters than any other player has in an entire game. -via Bluesky / February 2, 2025

LeBron ties Michael Jordan for most 30+ point games after turning 40 years old. -via StatMuse / February 2, 2025

Team sources say the public complaints caused serious frustration all the way to the top of the Lakers franchise. What’s more, there was little confidence that the sort of moves James and Davis wanted were realistically possible on the open market. -via New York Times / February 2, 2025

Luka has always been extremely competitive within those 48 minutes on the court. The Mavericks, however, were frustrated. Frankly, they felt like investing in him was going to be a diminishing return because of his lack of competitiveness off the court—his lack of willingness to make the year-round, around-the-clock commitment required to be the face of an NBA franchise. Yes, he has an amazing ability to put up huge numbers while playing his way into shape. But ultimately, the Mavericks did not believe that Luka Dončić was going to lead them to a championship. And that led to this shocking trade. -via YouTube / February 2, 2025

Mavericks players were blindsided by the trade. One player, according to a source briefed on his thinking, believed Doncic would accompany Dallas on its five-game road trip. -via New York Times / February 2, 2025

Doncic is clearly at the height of his prime and the anointed successor of Dirk Nowitzki as the face of the franchise. But the Mavericks still decided to part ways with him. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the story of Doncic’s trade to the Lakers, even with Davis as the major return for Dallas, has left at least one NBA All-Star wondering whether there is a rift between the Slovenian star and the Mavs. “I had a current NBA All-Star text me and say, ‘Do you know how much the Mavericks must hate Luka?’” -via athlonsports.com / February 2, 2025