LeBron says he doesn’t lose sleep questioning how he and Luka lost as a duo: ‘There’s 8 other guys on the floor’

Maybe no team failed to live up to expectations in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs more than the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles entered the playoffs as a real contender in the Western Conference in the eyes of plenty of people, and it’s not difficult to understand why.

For one, the Lakers ended the 2024-25 regular season with one of the better records in the Western Conference. Los Angeles won 50 of its 82 games and clinched the conference’s No. 3 seed. The Lakers were also led by one of the league’s top duos in guard Luka Doncic and forward LeBron James, who both have lots of playoff experience.

That didn’t stop them from bowing out in five games to the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round. However, James recently went on record as saying he doesn’t lose sleep over how he and Doncic lost in the playoffs as a tandem and reminded folks that basketball is a team sport.

“For me, I’ve definitely learned over the years that teams win championships,” James said on how he processes his team’s first-round exit. “… Always, teams always win championships. And yes, individuals get a lot of the accolades and the praise, but a collective group wins championships.

“Now, you have your big guys that make big plays at the end of games, throughout the game or whatever the case may be. But ultimately, teams win championships, and I understand that. And it’s never just about me and Luka. It was never just about Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. It was always Minnesota versus the Lakers, and I understand that.

“And I am at a point in my career now where I don’t lose sleep over that, like, ‘F—, how did me and Luka lose?’ Well, yeah, there’s eight other guys on the floor.”

Doncic and James did a lot to try to help the storied franchise come out on top in its best-of-seven series against Minnesota. It just wasn’t enough.

Starting with the Slovenian, he averaged more points per game in the matchup than any player on either team. He dropped 30.2 points per contest on solid efficiency to boot, as he shot 45.2 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from deep. Doncic scored 28-plus points in all but one of the five playoff contests for the Lakers.

James, meanwhile, didn’t score the ball at the rate Doncic did, but he was still highly effective at putting the ball in the basket, as he averaged more than 25 points per game. The NBA’s oldest player made his presence felt on the glass too, as he averaged the most rebounds on a game-to-game basis of any Laker.

Hopefully, the Lakers will manage to put a better supporting cast around Doncic and James this offseason, whether it be through trades or free-agent acquisitions. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Lakers will be one of the last teams standing in the 2026 NBA Playoffs if they can add some pieces to their talented core.