Luka Doncic and LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers begin their eight-game road trip with a win over the Denver Nuggets. The victory was notable as the Nuggets played without their star center, Nikola Jokic.
Jokic is widely regarded as one of the top players in basketball, having won three MVP awards and being named NBA Finals MVP after leading Denver to a championship in 2023. Despite a developing rivalry between the Lakers and Nuggets in recent years, there remains mutual respect between LeBron James and Nikola Jokic.
During the game, LeBron James approached Jokic on the Nuggets bench to greet him. When asked about this gesture, James said on Spectrum SportsNet: “It’s the utmost respect. For the greats of the game, for the greats of today, for me for the greats of the past, for the greats that come after. Jokic is one of the greatest players to ever play this game. For me to see him and go over and just pay my respect, that’s easy.”
James and Jokic have competed against each other several times in recent seasons during playoff matchups between their teams. However, LeBron highlighted their meeting in the 2024 Olympic semifinals between Team USA and Serbia as especially memorable: “It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever played in. It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever played in. I’ve played in a lot of great games, NBA Finals games, Olympic games, high school games, regular season games. That ranks right up there with one of the greatest games I’ve ever played in and I’ll never forget that moment.”
In that Olympic contest, James and Stephen Curry led Team USA to a comeback win over Jokic’s Serbian team before securing a gold medal.
Additionally, LeBron James acknowledged his teammate Luka Doncic after Doncic received more votes than any other player for this year’s NBA All-Star Game starter spots. This marks a change from previous years when James had been named an All-Star starter for 21 consecutive seasons.
