No one might be more affected by the Dallas Mavericks' bombshell decision to trade away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, other than those involved in the trade themselves, than LeBron James. James is nearing the end of his career, so for him and the Lakers to be in the middle of a seismic change such as this would have had to affect him in a major way. And following the Lakers' 122-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, James finally broke his silence on the most shocking trade in NBA history.

Speaking with Jared Greenberg on the TNT broadcast, the Lakers star gave Doncic his much-deserved flowers and expressed excitement for the team-up between them that is to come once the Slovenian wunderkind returns from his injury.

“It's gonna be special, I think so. We're gonna attract a lot of eyes. Obviously, our ability to score, rebound, pass is gonna make it a lot easier on our teammates. And that's all we want to do,” James said. “Listen, Luka [Doncic] is a big-time player. 25 years old, hasn't even reached his prime yet, and he's done some amazing s**t in our league already… I'm happy to have him, LA is happy to have him, and it's still a little bit surreal, to be honest with you.”

James has expressed his admiration for Doncic's game plenty of times in the past, and it didn't seem as though there will ever be an instance in which they could play together outside of the All-Star Game. Doncic has also made it clear before that James is one of his most revered players, and for the Lakers to be able to pass the torch from the latter to the former is quite the incredible feat — even if it may have cost them a beloved player in Davis.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks with Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) after the Mavericks defeat the Lakes at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Witnessing LeBron James play alongside Luka Doncic, and on the Lakers no less, will be such a treat for fans. James and Doncic control the game like no other, as they can bend defenses to their will and make the most out of their elite basketball IQ — being a few steps ahead of the competition — to dominate opponents.

James will have to take on a more off-ball role with Doncic seizing controls of the offense, and Austin Reaves may have to be relegated to some secondary or even tertiary playmaking duties. They will also need another center as they are very thin in the frontcourt after trading Anthony Davis away. But James and Doncic will be responsible for plenty of basketball magic, with exciting times being ahead for the Lakers.