LeBron James Made Honorable Move for Luka Dončić in Lakers' Season Debut

20 Nov 2025, 03:54 · The Fresno Bee

LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to play in a 23rd season Tuesday night when he made his season debut for the Lakers in a 140-126 win over the Jazz. He missed the first month of the season due to sciatica in his right side, but year 23 for No. 23 is officially underway.

It's no secret that James, who turns 41 on Dec. 30, is in the twilight of his career. Los Angeles' future once he hangs it up was an unknown until the Lakers made the shocking move to acquire Luka Dončić from the Mavericks at last season's deadline. In James's season debut Tuesday, he apparently made an honorable move that signals he will officially pass the torch to Dončić sooner than later.

According to a report from The Athletic's Dan Woike, James pushed for Dončić to be introduced last with the Lakers' starters. James was announced first to a massive round of applause from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena.

A small gesture, but certainly a significant one from one superstar to another.

Introductions for an NBA team's starting lineup pump up the home fans just ahead of the game. Typically, a team's star player goes last, which gets a bit tricky for the Lakers with two superstars at vastly different stages of their respective careers. Dončić and James are undoubtedly both fan favorites, but the subtle move from the NBA's all-time scoring leader is a nice salute to the 26-year-old guard who's averaging a whopping 34.4 points per game this season.

James had an 11-point, 12-assist double-double in his season debut, while Dončić led the Lakers with 37 points. He added 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals, too, although he had eight turnovers.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Made Honorable Move for Luka Dončić in Lakers' Season Debut.

This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 7:54 PM.