Getty LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
On Sunday, February 26, the Los Angeles Lakers secured an impressive comeback win against a Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks team.
When speaking to the media following the contest, Doncic took a moment to heap praise onto LeBron James, crediting the superstar for his longevity, deep skillset, and career achievements.
“It’s unbelievable for a guy like that, and he’s doing that stuff at 37, 38. 20th season in the NBA, it’s just unbelievable; he’s the scoring leader, he has accomplished almost everything you can accomplish in basketball. It’s pretty amazing to even play against a guy like that,” Doncic said.
Doncic’s comments came after LeBron played through some foot trouble to end the contest with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block on 10-of-23 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line.
The Lakers’ victory over the Mavericks saw them move up to 12th in the Western Conference standings, putting them 1 game outside of the 10th-placed New Orleans Pelicans, who occupy the last available play-in spot.
LeBron James Reveals His Foot Has ‘Been Better’
When speaking to the media during his post-game press conference, LeBron faced questions regarding his health and the foot injury he’s been dealing with throughout the season, and that was appearing to give him trouble during the contest.
“It’s been better, that’s for sure. But I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game tonight. Just understood the importance of the game and then the momentum that we had. I felt like we could still win after being down. But, we’ll monitor it over the next couple of days, see how it feels, and go from there,” LeBron said.
The Lakers are currently on a three-game winning streak and will be hoping to carry that form into their next contest, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, February 28, against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kendrick Perkins Has Faith in The Lakers
During a February 23 episode of ESPN’s NBA Today, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins was vocal in his belief that the new-look Lakers can not only make it to the postseason but be a force throughout the competition.
“This team right here, with the way that D’Angelo Russell has been playing since January, even when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The addition of Jared Vanderbilt. They have everything and more. In my opinion, the only thing in question is the health of Anthony Davis. But, when it comes down to the Western Conference, it’s a few teams that don’t wanna see this Laker team…This team will be dangerous, they will be the most dangerous 8th seed in NBA history, in my opinion,” Perkins said.
Based on their performances since revamping their roster at the February 9 trade deadline, this iteration of the Lakers could be more than capable of making some waves during the postseason, but first, they will need to keep stringing wins together and continue climbing up the Western Conference – otherwise, it will be another early summer vacation for the purple and gold.
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