Lakers teammates LeBron James and Luka Dončić have been turning heads across the NBA landscape, but not everyone is ready to crown Los Angeles’ new dynamic duo as the league’s best.
Recently on the SPEAK podcast, NBA analyst Ric Bucher joined Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce to debate whether Luka and LeBron are the NBA’s most formidable pairing. While many analysts have been quick to anoint them, Pierce—the Celtics legend and 2008 NBA Finals MVP—wasn’t having it:
“They certainly are the biggest two names together, but the best duo are Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. We all know that.”
The room of NBA analysts erupted, “We don’t know that!”
But Pierce, never one to back down from a controversial take, held his ground:
“What you mean? They just won a championship together. You know who the second best duo is? Jamal Murray and Joker [Nikola Jokić]. It’s based on what they’ve accomplished together.”
Pierce pointed out how there’s simply not enough data at this time to support the Lakers’ new pairing:
“LeBron James and Luka Dončić are 3-2 in their time together. So I can’t anoint them the best duo. Now, is Luka arguably the best player in the league? Yes. Is LeBron arguably the best player in the league? Yes. But as a duo, when you come together, they haven’t proven anything yet.”
When pressed by Bucher about what specifically makes Tatum and Brown the league’s best, Pierce’s answer was simple but powerful:
“Six conference finals, two finals, and one championship as a duo.”
It’s hard to argue with Pierce’s logic. While the Lakers’ new superstar duo has shown flashes of brilliance—sustained success in the playoffs remains the ultimate measuring stick.
If the Lakers continue playing the high-level basketball they displayed versus the Timberwolves on Thursday, they’ll be nearly impossible to defeat in the postseason. However, as Pierce rightfully points out, until LeBron and Luka achieve postseason success together, they’ll remain behind duos like Tatum-Brown and Jokić-Murray in the NBA’s hierarchy. The 10-time All-Star and Basketball Hall of Famer knows what it takes to win championships, having led the Celtics to their 17th title while earning Finals MVP honors, and without more time spent developing and getting to know each other’s styles, the Luka-LeBron pairing is unlikely to defeat high-powered Western Conference foes like the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
For now, the Lakers’ new superstar pairing remains full of potential but short on results. And in Paul Pierce’s world, that’s all that matters.
