NBA News: Mavs Star Elated With Potential LeBron James Business Partnership

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is expected to come up with another good season and most are not surprised. That includes LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers who will face him and his team on Christmas Day.

There is a lot of respect between James and Doncic. Despite injuries, both plan to play on Dec. 25. But beyond that, it appears that both may eventually become business partners.

The four-time NBA Champion bared that he had wanted Doncic for Team LeBron as his first signing, but the 21-year-old ended up going to Michael Jordan.

“I wanted to begin 'Team LeBron' and have Luka as my first signing with Nike,” James said on “Road Tripping podcast. “I don’t believe that my guys at Nike were ready for that. Obviously, they were not, because he ended up going to [Michael] Jordan. I don’t know if Luka knows this.”

Doncic heard of those plans and was honored to find that out. In fact, he could not describe the feeling when he did especially since James was his idol since he started playing ball for Real Madrid, USA Today reported.

“I felt special,” Doncic said. “Somebody sent it to me. That’s how I got to know it. It’s something special. It’s something I can’t explain.”

While that could happen moving forward, the focus is now on the task at hand. The Mavericks could gauge how far they can go this NBA season with their first meeting with the Lakers for the 2020-21 season.

Though a long way to go, their performance on Dec. 25 could serve as a barometer.

James rolled his ankle in their last game against the Clippers but said he would play against the Mavs. The soon-to-be 36-year-old player does not want to miss playing on Christmas Day.

“I’ve never missed a Christmas Day game, so I don’t plan on missing one," he said.

The same holds for Doncic despite feeling some soreness in his knee.

It is one of the good games to watch on Dec. 25 at the Staples Center. The Lakers host the Mavericks with tip-off starting at 8:00 p.m. E.T. Both squads are coming off opening game losses, making this game worth watching.