LeBron James Reacts to Lakers Massive Trade to Land Mark Williams

Despite their shifting lineups and unavailable new players, the Los Angeles Lakers are on a hot streak of late. After surviving a Golden State Warriors rally in the second half of a home encounter Thursday, L.A. has now won 10 of its last 12 contests to improve to a 30-19 record in the tough Western Conference.

More importantly for its long-term future, the team has added two talented young pieces in five-time All-NBA superstar guard Luka Doncic and its new center, a 23-year-old big man with the tallest standing reach in the league (9-foot-9 — two inches more than jumbo-sized San Antonio Spurs All-Star center Victor Wembanyama), Mark Williams.

After nabbing an insane 42-point, 17-rebound, eight-assist stat line and guiding Los Angeles to a 120-112 win Thursday, 21-time Lakers All-Star LeBron James reflected on the addition of Williams for the first time, per Spectrum SportsNet. The news had only become official that night.

"What do I think? That I'm old... biggest thing is we got the win."

LeBron talks with the media after joining Michael Jordan as the only players to score over 40 points at the age of 40. pic.twitter.com/CIPezRZvYY
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 7, 2025

"Sheesh, I haven't even had time to really wrap my head around it. Obviously, young, athletic big, you know, he's gonna give us another lob threat, along with Jaxson [Hayes]. Looking forward to getting him here," James said.

"I think I was surprised that we were able to get him, to be completely honest. Just seeing his length. And seeing how young he is, he's 23 years old," James added. "I'm looking forward to getting him here and getting him acclimated to our system and looking forward to what he brings to the table."

Team vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka — who after a week of trade deadline maneuvering has now emerged as the clear favorite to win his first Executive of the Year award this spring — spoke with reporters after the bout to unpack the Williams move.

Rob Pelinka on Mark Williams: "He lined up so well just in terms of his age and career trajectory with Luka and other parts of our roster so when the opportunity came our way we were aggressive." pic.twitter.com/ouj1dU0ZiA
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 7, 2025

"One of the things [Doncic and I] talked about is, whether it would be at the deadline or potentially this summer, seeing if we could add a vertical big, a mobile big that fit also within JJ Redick's coaching style," Pelinka said. "I think I said at my press conference a few days ago that the market for bigs was dry. But this opportunity came to us... 23-year-old, fits that profile, mobile big, one of the largest hand reaches in the NBA."

The Duke product has only played 85 total games (56 starts) across his two-and-a-half pro seasons so far. But when he has been available, he's impressed with his speed and size in the painted area. In 23 games this year, the 7-footer is averaging 15.6 points on 58.6 percent shooting from the floor and 78 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.7 steals a night.

"He lined up so well just in terms of his age and career trajectory with Luka and other parts of our roster so when the opportunity came our way we were aggressive and brought him to our team," Pelinka said. "We're super excited to have Mark Williams."

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