Dončić Praises James, Regrets Playing Through Injury

Luka Dončić said he enjoyed playing alongside LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers and believed the team could have made a stronger playoff run if injuries had not sidelined him and Austin Reaves. In a recent interview, he praised James for allowing him to play his own way and described their time as teammates positively. Dončić said the Lakers had a chance to make noise in the playoffs, but he and Reaves were hurt. His assessment is a view about what might have happened, rather than a result the team was able to test. The Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets in a playoff series before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to the accounts of their postseason. The interview also revisited the limited time the pair had to establish their partnership. Dončić joined Los Angeles during the season, and he said the team did not have enough time to practice together or settle on how it wanted to play. He compared the transition to a midseason adjustment, noting that he and James had not had a full opportunity to build their approach on the court. James has since left the Lakers for the Philadelphia 76ers.