The Los Angeles Lakers have spent the better part of the LeBron James era pondering how to extend his iconic career. Anthony Davis helped James win a fourth career championship and reach the 2023 Western Conference Finals, but Los Angeles never seemed to go all-in on him as a franchise player.
Luka Doncic has spent less than a month in the purple and gold, but he's already alleviated the burden from James in a way that suggests the code has been cracked.
At just 25 years of age, Doncic has cemented his status as one of the greatest players of his generation. He's the reigning scoring champion, a five-time All-NBA First Team honoree, and a true franchise player who led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and 2022 Western Conference Finals.
The driving force behind Doncic's resounding success has been his uncanny ability to operate as the focal point of an offensive system as both a scorer and facilitator.
The same has been said about James throughout his illustrious NBA career. He is, after all, No. 1 in Association history in career points and No. 4 in career assists. At 40 years of age, however, there are limitations, even for a superhuman figure.
Doncic is the answer the Lakers have been searching for to help ease the burden and grant James the opportunity to stretch his already unfathomable career even further.
Luka Doncic gives LeBron James a chance to extend NBA career
Doncic is a walking offensive system, boasting the ability to lead the charge as both a scorer and a playmaker. He won the scoring title in 2023-24 by averaging 33.9 points per game, which was the fourth-highest single-season average since the turn of the century.
Doncic simultaneously averaged 9.8 assists per game—the second-highest mark in the NBA during the 2023-24 regular season.
Doncic has proven on multiple occasions that his brand of dominance can, in fact, translate to the playoffs. He boasts career postseason averages of 30.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game, and led the Dallas Mavericks on two deep runs.
That's the most important context of all: Doncic isn't just some regular-season warrior, but a proven postseason player who can put a team on his back at any moment.
That's the key to what makes Doncic the perfect player to extend James' career. James is still as productive as almost any star in the NBA, but his ability to handle the workload of a true No. 1 is understandably impeded by the fact that he's a 40-year-old player with mountains of wear-and-tear.
Rather than asking him to put the Lakers on his back, Los Angeles can now task James with truly picking his spots as Doncic runs the offense at an All-NBA level.
The reason for optimism is strengthened by the fact that Doncic has already proven that he can play in a co-starring situation. He led Dallas to the Western Conference Finals alongside Jalen Brunson, and reached the NBA Finals with former James teammate Kyrie Irving.
A proven commodity on every stage, Doncic can help James in the exact area that he needs the burden alleviated. That's the perfect way to extend the 20-time All-NBA honoree's career.