Charles Barkley gets brutally honest on LeBron James' role with Lakers alongside Luka Doncic
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The Los Angeles Lakers have gained new life and enthusiasm since their trade with the Dallas Mavericks that brought them high-scoring superstar Luka Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis. The trade has brought the Lakers plenty of favorable reviews from both fans and experts, while the Mavericks have been questioned on a non-stop basis.
"You got to give LeBron a lot of credit because he has accepted the role of being a finisher instead of a starter."
Charles Barkley on LeBron's role now with Luka Doncic on the Lakers
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/qnfzwMmo4k
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 13, 2025
The Lakers have won 8 of their last 10 games and they have risen to the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference. They are not the favorites to win the Western Conference title as they will have to overcome the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets before they will have a chance to make this a truly memorable season.
The arrival of Doncic means the Lakers have a pair of superstars who are both capable of taking over any game. Doncic and LeBron James are a formidable duo, and while they are still getting used to playing with one another, it’s clear that they have gotten the attention of their opponents.
TNT analyst Charles Barkley said it’s not just a matter of Doncic fitting in with his new team. He believes that Doncic is the type of player who excels at setting up his teammates for game-changing plays in addition to being a player who can dominate with his scoring. Since Doncic is going to set up his teammates and start so many plays for the Lakers, James has to be more of a finisher than he has been in recent year.
James continues to play effectively when Lakers ask him to score
Doncic excels with the ball in his hands and shooting from the outside. James has always been an outstanding distributor, but instead of starting plays for the Lakers, he is now finishing them.
“James has accepted the role of being a finisher and not a starter,” Barkley said on TNT. “That’s a really big deal. He’s catching a lot of fast breaks. Normally, he’s like a post forward. But give him a lot of credit because he was the one that would have to make a big adjustment. Luka is not the guy who will be running on the wings and finishing fast breaks.”
Doncic is averaging 24.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.0 assists in the 12 games he has played with the Lakers. He has been playing 34.1 minutes per game of his shots from the field since coming to Los Angeles. He connected on 47.0 percent of his shots during his 7 years with the Mavericks.
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