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NBA Insider Shares How LeBron James Congratulated Luka Doncic on New Lakers Deal
The Los Angeles Lakers inked Luka Doncic to a three-year max contract extension this weekend, with the Slovenian superstar signing on the dotted line on Saturday. Shortly thereafter the Lakers held a press conference to officially announce the big news; many of Doncic's teammates showed up, including a few recent free agent acquisitions, as well as head coach JJ Redick.
Most of the Lakers roster here supporting Luka as he announces his new max contract. pic.twitter.com/Ihdqa4p9HB
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 2, 2025
As one can see LeBron James was not among those who attended the press conference, where Lakers GM Rob Pelinka also discussed the possibility James retires in purple and gold. But King James found a way to congratulate his superstar running mate regardless.
On Sunday NBA insider Marc Stein reported on the Doncic extension and noted James reached out to Doncic the morning he signed the deal.
"LeBron and son Bronny James were noticeably not in attendance at the news conference, but I'm told that LeBron FaceTimed Dončić on Saturday morning to congratulate him on the new deal," Stein wrote on his Substack.
This report should put any conspiracies about James and Doncic's press conference to bed.
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Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.