The Los Angeles Lakers were in a dogfight with the Orlando Magic, and they had a chance to win the game with seconds remaining. The ball was inbounded to Luka Doncic, and it looked like he had a wide-open shot; the only thing was that it was probably further than he liked in that moment.
Doncic then stepped in, but he picked up his dribble, leading him into no man's land. He tried to find a pass, and LeBron James was the closest person to him. By that time, the clock was near zero, and James had to take a turnaround three-pointer, which did not go in, and the Lakers walked away with the loss.
After the game, James was asked about the final play and what he saw.
“I’m not sure,” James said. “Obviously, you’ll have to ask Luka what he saw. I thought he had a good look, and it looked like he kind of lost his balance and didn’t have a rhythm with the ball.”
“I’m not sure. Obviously you’ll have to ask Luka what he saw. I thought he had a good look and it looked like he kind of lost his balance and didn’t have a rhythm with the ball” – LeBron James on the Lakers’ final inbounds play to Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/ajWVYjl4sP
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 25, 2026
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Doncic was also asked about the play, and he noted that he didn't have any communication with James afterwards. He did explain what happened in those finals seconds.
“I mean, I just saw him open and I didn’t want to lose the ball. We didn’t have timeouts. … [But] I shouldn’t have picked up the ball. I should have attacked. … That’s on me,” Doncic said.
Q: Did you have any communication with LeBron after the final play?
Doncic: "No."
Q: When you passed it to him, did you think he had a shot or did you recognize it would be a tough opportunity?
Doncic: "I mean, I just saw him open and I didn’t want to lose the ball. We didn’t… pic.twitter.com/It6GfGJ2m2
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 25, 2026
In those moments, everybody knows that Doncic is likely going to take the last shot. It's surprising that he passed the ball in that situation, but he picked up his dribble and had nowhere to go. James is one of the only other people who should get the ball in the final seconds, so Doncic did right with that, it was just not enough time on the clock.