Luka Doncic Seemingly Takes a Shot at LeBron James After Lakers Exit

Superstar guard Luka Doncic is sad to see LeBron James leave the Los Angeles Lakers this season. But is a part of him also happy?

In a recent interview, Doncic said the Lakers now have “a better chance” to compete at the highest level and win the title after they added nine new pieces this offseason. Notably, the Slovenian made the remarks when asked to address James’ departure from Los Angeles after nine years.

“Obviously, LeBron did a lot for this team and made us better,” Doncic said, via LakerFilm’s Marc Jacobs.

“We have a lot of respect for everything he brought to Los Angeles, but I think the team we have now fits us really well. We added a lot of guys who can defend, shoot and make plays, and I really like the balance of this group,” Doncic continued.

“I think we have a better chance to compete at the highest level and ultimately win.”

Luka Doncic Excited About New-Look Lakers

In addition to LeBron James, the Lakers lost Marcus Smart, Jaxson Hayes, Luke Kennard and Rui Hachimura in free agency, while also trading last year’s starting center, Deandre Ayton.

The Lakers replaced those pieces with a younger set of players in Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams. They also drafted Cameron Carr.

Notably, the 30-year-old Looney is now the oldest player on a revamped Lakers squad, dropping the team’s average age from 31.2 last season to 26.2. When asked to compare last year’s roster to this year’s, Doncic seemingly referenced the age gap.

“I think we have a really good group this year,” he stressed. “There’s a lot of new faces, but I like the way everyone fits together and the way we can play off each other. We have guys who can defend, make plays and do different things for us.

“It’s going to take some time to build that chemistry, but I’m really excited about what we have and what we can become,” he added.

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