Inside The Heat

Early Returns Show Luka Doncic Better With LeBron Than Dwyane Wade

Shandel Richardson|
Feb 5, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade (3) and forward LeBron James (6) in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Heat defeated the Clippers 116-112. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 5, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade (3) and forward LeBron James (6) in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Heat defeated the Clippers 116-112. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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There was a time LeBron James had a clear cut best teammate.

Now, it's a little more debatable. At least in the early stages.

Tom Haberstroh of Yahoo! Sports recently pointed out Luka Doncic is averaging 34 points in his first two playoff games with James for the Los Angeles Lakers. That's more than double the 15.5 points Dwyane Wade averaged after two games against the Philadelphia 76ers with James in 2011.

It's also better than when James teamed with Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Anthony Davis (Lakers).

"That is Luka Doncic's scoring average in his first two playoff games as a Los Angeles Laker, which means that LeBron James has played 22 years and has never played with a guy who has scored this many points in their first two playoff games," Haberstroh said. "So Luka Doncic, not Dwyane Wade, not Anthony Davis, not Kyrie Irving, not JR Smith himself, has averaged this ... The point is, LeBron has never had a teammate this good."

It should be noted Wade teamed with James at his peak. During his four years in Miami, James won two MVPs and was Finals MVP for both championships. At 40, James can now rely more on the younger Doncic.

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here