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The top scorer in NBA history is finally coming to grips with the idea of forming a new partnership with Luka Dončić, who also holds a special place in James’s esteem.
“Luka has been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now,” James said on Tuesday night after scoring 26 points in the Lakers’ blowout win over the Clippers. “I’ve always just tried to play the game the right way and inspire the next generation, and Luka happens to be one of them, and now we’re teammates. So it’ll be a very seamless transition.”
Like the rest of the world, James initially assumed the Lakers’ trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Dončić – Davis was sent the other way – was a joke when he learned about it last Saturday night while at dinner with his family in New York.
“My emotions were all over the place,” James said. “The first time I heard it, I thought it was for sure fake. I thought it was a hoax. People messing around or whatever. But AD FaceTimed me, and I talked to him for quite a while. Even when I got off the phone with him, it still didn’t seem real. Pretty much didn’t seem real until I saw Luka today, and then I saw the clip of AD at the Dallas shootaround. That’s when it finally hit me, like, ‘This is real.'”
Midway through his record-tying 22nd NBA season, the 40-year-old James has often said in recent years that he’s seen everything it’s possible to experience in the NBA. This trade changed his mind.
“Ain’t never seen this,” James said. “I haven’t. I’ve seen it all, up until this one. I’ve never been a part of a transaction like that. That was different … It was shocking when I heard the news, but at the end of the day, I understand the business of basketball.”
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and James said he’s …
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