LeBron James has once again come to the defence of Luka Doncic, making it clear the Los Angeles Lakers star should not have to change his playing style for anyone. 

Doncic led the Lakers with 30 points and 10 assists during their 111-103 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, along with two rebounds, with James also impressing on Tuesday. 

The 21-time NBA All-Star also finished with 30 points, which was backed up by eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block in a commanding all-round display.

But it was Doncic who stole the show, capping his performance with a pair of off-balance 3-pointers as the shot clock wound down, continuing his fine start to the season. 

The Slovenian has averaged 33.5 points so far in 2025-26, more than any other player in the league, while his average of 8.7 assists is only bettered by Josh Giddey (9), Cade Cunningham (9.7) and Nikola Jokic (11). 

Despite his recent form, many have suggested that Doncic needs to adjust his approach to better fit his team-mates, a conversation James believes is completely misguided. 

"Luka doesn't need to bend his game," James said. "Luka is our [26-year-old] franchise for this ballclub. He doesn't need to bend his game. 

"It's up to us to bend our game around him and figure it out.

"We just try to be dynamic and work off of him. We know he is an unbelievable pick-and-roll player, an unbelievable shot-maker. He commands the defence.

"He has four eyes, sometimes six eyes on him. So, it's up to us to put ourselves in the right position. It's not a problem for me; it's not an issue for me."

Final

LeBron: 30 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast
Luka: 30 pts, 10 ast
Deandre: 18 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast
Marcus: 13 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast pic.twitter.com/OfJWYwgJ2k

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 7, 2026

With Doncic and James both scoring 30 points, it was the second time in the Lakers' last three games that the pair topped that mark together in a single game. 

Los Angeles have now won their last three games in a row, helping them improve to 23-11 and stay third in the Western Conference standings after 34 games of their season. 

Their victories have been made even more impressive by the fact they are without Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who are both out with injury issues. 

"He's been absolutely amazing," Doncic said of James. "Just helping me out, helping others out, being super efficient on the field goals. That's Bron.

"He can do anything. Just really appreciate him. We are playing better with each other, game by game. And this is just going to be improving more."

After averaging 14 points on 41.3% shooting in his first six games after he was sidelined for the first month of the season with sciatica, 41-year-old James is back to his best. 

Tuesday was the seventh time in the Lakers' past 12 games that James has scored 25 points or more. During Los Angeles' current winning stretch, he's averaging 29 points. 

And Lakers coach JJ Redick never doubted James could get back to this level. 

"I know LeBron, I know how much he puts into this," Redick said. "I think it's just recognising, game to game, what he has. He's Greg Maddux at the end of his career.

"Every night he doesn't have his best stuff, but he has enough to win. I'm his catcher. I've got to figure out how to call the pitches.

"Sometimes he tells me to F off and he calls his own pitch, which is fine too.

"But it really is, to me, it's that. It's like: What's the best way to utilise him tonight based on the opponent, based on the coverage, based on how he's moving?

"We have conversations sometimes in games. 'How's your 3-ball feel? OK? All right, I'm going to run this off-ball play for you'. It's really just that ongoing dialogue with him.

"What he's doing at 41, what he did last year at 40, it's greatness. It's just a different form of greatness."