As it was the first season with the Los Angeles Lakers duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic together, there is no doubt that the pair will be hungry to redeem themselves after a disappointing playoff exit. With the Lakers' star in Doncic appearing on James' “Mind The Game” podcast, the latter spoke about his relatively new teammate and what makes him special.

Ever since the blockbuster trade that sent Doncic to Los Angeles, he has been on the floor with James as the two played half of a season together. From that time alone, James would notice the “pace” that Doncic plays with, which stood out to him.

“It's always his pace, and it's always been his pace,” James said. “He moves at his own pace, and he's never been on the floor where he's allowed someone to dictate where they're going to put him on the floor. It's always been the opposite, and for us, we're all working off that. We just have to stay ready.”

Lakers' LeBron James speaks on how unique Luka Doncic is 

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) leave a court after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-85 in game two of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena.
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As Doncic continues to show his passion for basketball with the Lakers, James is hoping it can result in a title, though other lateral moves will need to be made this offseason. Subsequently, there's no denying the skill that Doncic has, as even James mentioned, there are some plays that “only certain guys in the league history” can make, with his teammate being one.

“Obviously, we've seen throughout his career there's plays and passes that only certain guys in the league history have ever been able to make, and for us, we just all have to make sure we continue to stay ready,” James said. “Especially when you go against handsy teams, athletic teams, and teams that try to speed you up.”

“We always have to keep our head on a swivel, because you just never know when the ball may find you, and that's a good thing,” James continued. “That's keeping the defense off balance, and that's a great thing to have.”

At any rate, Los Angeles, led by James and Doncic, is looking to further improve as they had a 50-32 record, which put them third in the Western Conference, but they ended up getting eliminated in the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.