Luka Doncic has formally signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, cementing his function because the group’s new centerpiece. The announcement got here with a press convention full of press and fans-everyone, besides one of many franchise’s most iconic figures: LeBron James.
King James, who has led the group since 2018, was noticeably absent from the occasion. But behind the scenes, he made his presence felt in a small however telling gesture.
Luka Doncic makes a magic shot after signing contract extension with out LeBron James current
The 40-year-old NBA icon determined to video name Doncic on FaceTime the morning of the announcement to supply his congratulations.
That telephone name despatched a transparent message. Whereas LeBron could also be fading from the general public highlight, his acknowledgment reinforces professionalism and respect – an unstated acceptance of the altering guard.
A quiet shift within the Lakers order
The optics surrounding LeBron’s absence on the press convention had been stark. Whereas teammates and Lakers executives applauded Doncic’s extension, LeBron’s no-show fueled hypothesis about his place inside the group.
Simply weeks earlier, Doncic’s agent and Lakers executives had dined publicly with out James – a sign that Doncic is now the franchise icon. Fast clubhouse discuss framed the dinner as a symbolic handover, reinforcing the concept that the Lakers are realigning priorities round youth.
LeBron’s personal season has mirrored that transition. At 40, he opted into his participant possibility value $52.6 million for the 2025-26 season, however no extension talks have materialized. Regardless of being a driving pressure behind the franchise’s revival in 2018, the Lakers now seem extra centered on planning round Doncic’s future.
Sources near LeBron counsel he has accepted this evolution with grace, per ClutchPoints. One insider famous that LeBron “understood the Lakers benefiting from a possibility to pivot,” regardless of not being actively concerned in Doncic’s negotiations or group route.
In accordance with these sources, he acknowledges the franchise is constructing towards longevity – and that his personal function is getting into a brand new part.
A report additionally confirmed that LeBron referred to as Doncic immediately after the deal was confirmed, guaranteeing that the gesture was seen even when he was not bodily current. That refined outreach averted public efficiency whereas nonetheless affirming assist.
Negotiations with out LeBron a transparent sign
Whereas LeBron contacted him to supply congratulations, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick had paved the best way for Doncic to take the franchise ahead in discussions that excluded James. That distinction – between personal outreach and public absence – captures the complexity of LeBron’s present place: nonetheless a pacesetter, however more and more overshadowed.
Because the Lakers put together for a season constructed round Doncic, LeBron’s function seems to be shifting. Whereas he stays dedicated to competing at a excessive stage, the group’s route is unmistakably new.
LeBron’s acknowledgment of Doncic’s milestone through FaceTime – however refusal to make a scene – reveals restraint and, maybe, resignation. It is a quiet acceptance of legacy giving solution to legacy in movement.
Followers and analysts will interpret that transfer in a different way: as respectful management or as an indication that James feels more and more peripheral. Regardless, the message is evident: Luka Doncic is now middle stage, and LeBron has ceded a minimum of that a part of the highlight – on his personal phrases.
