LeBron James will deliver the worldwide eyeballs that the NBA so badly needs in 2025.
Luka Doncic can become the next great star, picking up where Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and The King left off.
GettyLeBron James and Luka Doncic deserve a bigger stage[/caption]
Where’s Tim Donaghy to fix games when the NBA really needs him?
Bad jokes aside, struggling commissioner Adam Silver must do everything within his power to ensure that the suddenly revived Los Angeles Lakers appear in the NBA Finals.
And once they’re there, the Lakers might as well win the whole darned thing again, re-tying the Boston Celtics for the most championships in league history.
How overlooked has the NBA regular season become?
Let’s just say that an NFL event in the middle of America in late February unofficially dubbed the ‘Underwear Olympics’ has overtaken the Denver Nuggets vs the Milwaukee Bucks as must-watch TV.
The recent NBA All-Star Game failure was the latest reminder that the ghost of David Stern needs to have a very frank talk with Adam Silver, who’s lost the script and is now relying on someone named Mr. Beast to save The Association.
Luka, LeBron and La La Land back in the Finals, months after horrific fires burned throughout the Los Angeles area?
That would be redemption, revitalization and rebirth all at once, and it’s exactly what the NBA needs if it’s going to remind bored fans that men’s professional basketball really used to be the second-biggest sport in the United States.
The Lakers — valued at $7.1 billion and with 12.3 million followers on X – entered a Thursday night matchup against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves fifth in the Western Conference and riding a three-game winning streak.
Nothing about that says world champions in 2024-25.
GettyJames has been revitalized by the Lakers’ trade for Doncic[/caption]
GettyLos Angeles is coming off a big win heading into a matchup vs the Timberwolves[/caption]
GettyJJ Redick now gets to coach James and Doncic together every night[/caption]
The Oklahoma City Thunder have an 11-game lead over Doncic’s new team, while the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets have been better all season.
In the East, Cleveland and Boston are miles beyond a Los Angeles (35-21) team that lacks depth, is coached by a rookie who used to co-host a podcast, and didn’t properly replace Anthony Davis at the trade deadline due to a bad physical.
Still, it’s Los Angeles, and one can always dream.
James could retire the moment that his current season ends.
He’s also too GOAT-ish to keep fading away with first-round playoff defeats.
Doncic has LA and Big D on his side, thanks to the barely .500 Mavericks letting the world know that their former franchise face had added a few too many extra pounds.
Could the Lakers really run the West, win four final games, and give The King a fifth ring at 40?
Crazier things have happened.
Specifically on February 2, when the Mavericks traded away the next Dirk Nowitzki, which was followed by a fan boycott and Davis playing a half before he was injured again.
There’s no doubt that James and Doncic united in purple and gold is everything the NBA has been missing for years.
It’s bigger than Major League Baseball and makes March Madness look amateur-ish.
It’s social media hype and internet credibility that the NBA can’t buy or create.
It’s everything the NBA Finals are supposed to be – if the Lakers can actually get out of the West and return to a glowing hardwood in June.
The NBA needs Doncic and James on the grand stage.
So does Silver.
