Luka Doncic breaks silence on LeBron James injury that will keep him out for start of LA Lakers 2025-26 season

Doncic is carrying the burden for the Lakers

As a superstar player for the Dallas Mavericks in the past, Doncic knows what it’s like to play without a strong supporting cast. He had to struggle without a co-star for a while, but he still led the Mavericks to several successful campaigns.

Now, he will have to do that again with the Lakers. Of course, this roster still has a lot of good players like Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, but they cannot reach their ceiling without James in the active squad.

Doncic would prefer to have James playing with him, but he is prepared to carry as the superstar again. Since he is firmly committed as the Lakers’ long-term star, this is a good test for him to stamp himself as the team’s best player.

“It’s a big change. He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality needs to be next man up. We got a group of guys who’ve been practicing,” Doncic said after practice on Saturday.

“Hopefully, LeBron can join us as soon as possible. We need him, but the mentality has to be next man up… I just want to play basketball, whether that’s less or more, whatever it takes to get the win.”

Redick and his staff are still unsure about their starting lineup without James

Since James is a vital player for the system, Redick and the coaching staff must make big adjustments. As a result, Redick has not decided what the starting lineup will be to start the campaign.

That is a valid problem because James was such a significant part of the roster. As one of the go-to forwards, James not only helps with the offense, but he also helps them settle in better on the defensive end.

Without him, the Lakers will take a hit offensively, as only Doncic and Reaves can reliably be ball-handlers in the starting group. Hachimura will probably retain his starting spot, but the player to replace James will be interesting.

Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia are big and talented enough to deputize for James, but Lakers fans should not expect a significant statistical leap from those two players. Redick is a big fan of Vanderbilt so far, and that could play a role in the potential starting lineup.

“We knew that he was dealing with the nerve irritation, so you hope that he’s back soon. Those things can be tricky, so I don’t think that if we knew this ahead of camp. It’s changing for how we practice and what our philosophies are for preseason games,” Redick said after practice on Saturday.

“It is unclear what the starting lineup is going to be. That’s the reality until he’s back, and we’ll have to figure that out.”

As long as he is given the time to make preparations, Redick will probably have a game plan. However, the focus will solely be on Doncic now, as he will be the number one option and the primary playmaker.