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LeBron James Reveals 'First Thing' Luka Doncic Told Him After Lakers Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 12:56 PM ET

We've gotten accustomed now, four months later, to the fact that the Lakers and Mavericks pulled off perhaps the most stunning trade in the history of the NBA, the deal that sent Luka Doncic to L.A. from Dallas, where he appeared to be set up to be a franchise icon for his entire career.

Since then, we saw the Lakers play great, falter a bit, fall in the postseason and begin looking forward to tweaking the roster around Doncic and star forward LeBron James. We also saw the Mavericks get hammered on the PR front of the Doncic trade, but recoup some of their losses by winning the NBA draft lottery and the rights to sure-fire star Cooper Flagg.

But when Doncic was first dealt, he was personally hurt to be discarded by Dallas. Fortunately, he wound up in L.A., which was important for one big reason--and not because Doncic could play with the Lakers and James, one of his basketball idols.

It was because of the beach.

In the new episode of the "Mind the Game" podcast, with James and former NBA star Steve Nash, Doncic made a guest appearance. James revealed the first thing that Doncic told him.

"First thing, I asked him a question, I was like, how are you adjusting?" James told Nash. "He said, ‘Eh, I’m adjusting. I like the beach.’ First thing he said."

Doncic, laughing, said of L.A., "First of all, this is the first city I play in that has an ocean. I really like the ocean. That was the first thing, after a couple days, that was the first thing on my mind, you know. I like it, I like it very much. The only thing is the traffic."

Indeed, before coming to the NBA, Doncic began his pro career with Real Madrid, which is smack dab in the middle of Spain, more than 220 miles from any beach. It was the same in Dallas, which is about 300 miles to the nearest beach.

Doncic did say that, on the floor, his adjustment to the Lakers was a, "work in progress." But he's gotten an immediate benefit from being in Los Angeles, at least.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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