The Los Angeles Lakers are rolling, as they moved to 11-4 on the 2025-26 season with a 140-125 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. The vibes are immaculate in the Lakers locker room right now, especially when elder statesman LeBron James made his season debut and put up 11 points and 12 assists to start his 23rd season in the NBA. One of the main highlights of the Lakers' season to this point has been the blossoming friendship between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, with the two continuously trading playful jabs on social media.
But their banter towards one another is making its way onto the court. During Doncic's interview with Spectrum SportsNet following the Lakers' win over the Jazz, Reaves came over and interrupted the interview, patting his teammate's shoulder and telling him, “Good job, friend.”
This elicited a head shake from Doncic, who seemingly cannot believe what he heard from his Lakers teammate. Trudell then probed into the two's friendship and Doncic doubled down on his gag-filled friendship dynamic with his backcourt mate.
“He wants to be my friend, but I'm not allowing it,” Doncic said in a deadpan manner while holding back a smile.
Trudell then asked what Reaves can do to convince Doncic to be his friend. The Lakers star then piled on the hilarity.
“Nothing. He can't do nothing [to be my friend],” Doncic added.
"For a first game, he looked amazing… He's gonna help us a lot."
Luka Doncic on LeBron James' return to action 🗣️
(via @SpectrumSN)pic.twitter.com/a7IBcmdMTC
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 19, 2025
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There is nothing more telling that two people are friends than when they take this amount of crap from one another like Doncic and Reaves do. And their bond is translating to some wins as well — making it all the more fun for Lakers fans to witness.
Lakers' Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves now commandeer the Lakers offense
Lakers' Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic smiling
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
James is 40 years of age, so as great of a player as he remains, he cannot be counted on any longer to be the man for his team every single night. He deferred to both Doncic and Reaves on Tuesday, preferring instead to take on a playmaking role. Meanwhile, Doncic and Reaves combined to score 63 of the team's 140 points.
This lighter responsibility for James on offense should help keep him fresher and healthier for the rest of the season in preparation for what the Lakers are hoping would be a deep playoff run.