The landscape of the NBA has been shaken up mightily for years to come thanks to the Dallas Mavericks. The club embarrassingly moved Luka Doncic — a 25-year-old generational talent — to the Los Angeles Lakers in a groundbreaking deal that makes zero sense. On Monday night, Doncic made his debut in the purple and gold, suiting up alongside LeBron James for the first time. Naturally, one of the biggest players in the sport playing for one of the most popular sports franchises in the world is going to draw plenty of attention and buzz.
Naturally, one of the biggest players in the sport playing for one of the most popular sports franchises in the world is going to draw plenty of attention and buzz. Still, as it stands now, the Western Conference runs through the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 43-9 through 52 games played. They are a true contender and are one of the best teams in the NBA as a whole.
The Lakers, being in the West, will have to get past a stout Thunder team. Doncic has experience taking down Oklahoma City in the playoffs, though. Can he do it again? According to NFL legend and ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe, the Lakers will make the NBA Finals if they take on the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Sharpe, like others in the NBA world, are buying into the hype around Doncic and LeBron with the Lakers. However, the Thunder are a buzzsaw and have the best net rating in NBA history at this point in time.
