Luka Dončić is set to make his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 10 against the Utah Jazz. When he does, he’ll be yet another star teammate among the list of stars who have played beside LeBron James.
Because James has played in the NBA for over two decades now, of course, he has played with some of the best players in the NBA. He’s even played with some of the NBA’s greatest of all time, like Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, and Ray Allen, but by the time he did, many of them were not what they used to be.
He even played with some young talent before they became stars like Carlos Boozer and Brandon Ingram, but that was in the very early stages of their career.
So, where does Dončić rank among the very best of James’ teammates? Let’s look at the star teammates who James played with back when the stars were in their prime.
Dwyane Wade (2010-14, 2017-18)
Pairing up with Dwyane Wade ultimately led to James’ first two titles, but even before they joined forces, Wade already had a pretty impressive résumé. He already had multiple All-Star and All-NBA First-Team appearances to his name, but he also had a championship and an NBA Finals MVP trophy. Of all the teammates James played with, Wade was easily the most accomplished independent of James’ impact.
The two also teamed up again later in Wade’s career when James rejoined the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Miami Heat legend was well past his prime.
Anthony Davis (2019-25)
Anthony Davis will go down as the most talented big man James ever played with. As a two-way force on both sides of the floor, there’s been an argument that Davis was the Lakers’ best player when they won the title in 2020. Sure, his injury woes only continued when paired with James, but warts and all, when Davis and James were on the court, the Lakers were unquestionably a playoff team.
Kyrie Irving (2014-17)
This isn’t a shot at Wade, but there may not have been a better-equipped guard to play with James than Kyrie Irving. James’ gravity allowed Irving never to have to see doubles, which made Irving all the more difficult to stop 1-on-1 because he could score both inside and outside the arc. It’s why those two paired together made Cleveland pretty much impossible to stop. It’s a shame their partnership didn’t last long.
Chris Bosh (2010-14)
Chris Bosh came in as one of the league’s best bigs when he joined James and Wade, but his fit was a little clunky at first. After their first trip to the NBA Finals didn’t end well, Bosh adjusted his game into doing more of the little things, like being a rim protector and shooting from 3. His evolution as more of a winning player at the cost of his stats makes him pretty underrated among James’ best teammates.
Kevin Love (2014-18)
Kevin Love’s struggles next to James were pretty well-documented, but they worked out well enough to get a title out of it. Even though the fit was never perfect, Love was still a floor-spacer and rebounder who helped the Cavaliers be as dominant as they were for three years. Even if James was arguably better off getting teammates who filled holes and fit better, Love’s talent gave Cleveland an edge.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (2003-10)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas was the very first star James played with. In a way, he was ahead of his time as a seven-footer who could stretch the floor. Ilgauskas wasn’t the fastest player James played with, but he knew how to use his size to exploit matchups as a shooter. By the time James became the league’s best player, Ilgauskas was past his prime, but he still did his part to help James when he could.
