It didn't take long for Luka Doncic to impress everyone during his rookie year in the league. Not only did the Slovenian superstar win the Rookie of the Year award, but he had already earned the respect of some of the most notable all-time greats during his first few games in the NBA.
One of those who admired him early was Dwyane Wade , who compared Doncic's superior passing skills to those of his former teammate, LeBron James .
"Quote me right where I say this — it's LeBron James-like from the standpoint of how he's able to rope that pass to shooters in corners, getting blitzed. There's not many guys who can do that and put it right there. He does an amazing job of it," Wade said in 2019.
Given that Doncic idolized James growing up, being compared to him makes a lot of sense since he patterned his game after LeBron. But the international sensation never wanted to say that his skills were on par with James and in fact, Doncic even once said that he's more like Ben Simmons in a sense that he can play both the point guard and forward position.
But with all due respect to Simmons , Doncic can actually shoot the ball and has shown that he's a much better player overall, as he has already etched himself in the NBA history books in his first six seasons.
As Wade said, Doncic's playstyle is also more comparable to James in the sense that they're both incredible playmakers who can pass the ball with such terrific precision despite the pressure of the defense being thrown at them. They've also been the focal point of their team's offense over the years.
Now that they're teammates, it's ironic that the player who is most like LeBron is the exact same one that D-Wade believes is extending his legacy. Wade feels passing the torch to Luka is the perfect way for his former teammate to leave the game in good hands.
"That's how I look at it. That's what we're gonna look at what's gonna happen when we talk about LeBron's legacy is, for leaving the game in the good place, 'Put Luka in a good place for us.' That will leave the game in a real good place," Wade said last February.
When Doncic was traded to the Lakers , there was reasonable skepticism about how he'd fit alongside James, given that they have the same playing style and they like to dominate with the ball in their hands.
However, that doubt never occurred to Wade, who was also one of the first believers in their partnership. The same partnership that didn't really taste much success in the playoffs last season, but is running it back this year with an improved supporting cast around them.
Whether or not James and Doncic prosper together remains uncertain, but they're going to have to do it by figuring out how they can reach the utmost potential of their partnership. They showed glimpses of that last season, but do they have another level to get to? One that's good enough to conquer a more stacked and improved Western Conference?
It's certainly going to be interesting to watch how two similar, ball-dominant and all-time great passers figure out how to win together, not just in the regular season like they did last year, but in the playoffs too.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
