The message coming out of the Lakers camp to Luka is simple – be yourself – and LeBron doesn’t want him to forget it.
“Just want him to be himself — when he gets back to himself,” James told ESPN. “Obviously, he’s been out since Christmas and I think he told me or said it to us, that’s the most he’s ever been out since he started playing basketball — because of an injury. Obviously, it’s not going to happen overnight, but I believe that in order for us to ultimately be the team that we want to be with him here, he has to have the ball, he has to be able to put us all in position, he has to be him. The seven years that we’ve seen in the NBA with Luka, we want that Luka.
“So we all have to transform our game for the betterment of him, obviously. But it’s not going to happen overnight. We know that. But my message has been, ‘Just be you. You don’t have to confine [your game] to us. We need to figure it out with you.’ Whatever he needs, I’m here. So, whatever he needs.”
Bron’s message of Luka ‘being himsself was clear from the outset.
Before tip off of Luka’s first game with the Lakers against the Jazz, James could be heard saying in the team huddle, “Luka, be your f***ing self. Don’t fit in, fit the f*** out.”
In his last game for the purple and gold, Luka was certainly looking a lot more comfortable and put out a scoreline the NBA world is familiar with.
After the game, the theme of staying true to yourself came up, as Doncic said,“Just finally feeling like myself a little bit,” Doncic said. “You know, playing this game, this is all I love, so I’m just finally being myself a little bit. That’s why I was smiling the whole game.”
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