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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) moves the ball against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77). Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Mavericks to host Lakers on Christmas Day

By Eduardo Solano | Last updated 8/15/22

Luka Doncic and LeBron James on Christmas should be fun! NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Friday that the first draft of next season’s schedule has Doncic and the Mavericks hosting James and the Lakers on Christmas Day.

The Lakers went just 33-49 last season, and they missed the playoffs. Now they hope that new head coach Darvin Ham, a healthy Anthony Davis and younger role players will help James make them contenders in the West. Davis only played in 40 games due to different injuries last season, and James missed 26 games.

The Mavericks had a 52-30 record in the regular season, and they reached the Western Conference Finals, winning their first playoff series since 2011 in the process. The Lakers and Mavericks met three times last year. The season series ended 2-1 in favor of Dallas, but Davis missed the two contests the Mavs won.

Luka Doncic made some tough plays down the stretch in the Mavericks' win over the Lakers. Some of these came with LeBron as the on-ball defender.

The short-range jumpers & floater were particularly intriguing since those will be important come playoff time. pic.twitter.com/ZD6q2W8ImA
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 2, 2022

Doncic is James’ favorite NBA player right now

James recently confirmed his status as a fan of Doncic. In the fourth episode of the fifth season of “The Shop: Uninterrupted” on June 10, James explained why Doncic is his favorite player in the league:

“His size. I mean he’s gigantic. A 6-8 point guard. He’s 225 pounds. He has the ball on a string. And more importantly, his vision. That’s why I love him. He can control a game. He doesn’t even have to shoot. Literally, he’ll walk the ball up 10 straight times and get to his spot every single time, just because of his pace.

"He knows when he comes off a pick and roll if they’re hard showing or if they hedging or if they dropping the pick and roll. He knows I can turn the corner because I got this shoulder, and I know the third line of defense, when I get there, if I just slow down and use my pivots, not even jump, just the Euro one-two, this guy’s flying by every time. It’s the mind.”

The Lakers still have question marks with some roster spots for next season and with Russell Westbrook’s future. The Mavericks, on the other hand, added Christian Wood and JaVale McGee to their frontcourt, but Jalen Brunson signed with the Knicks.

Doncic will have a chance to continue impressing James next season, and the Mavericks beating the Lakers on Christmas Day would be a step in the right direction for a franchise with championship hopes.

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