LeBron James Once Tried to Sign Luka Doncic but He Chose Jordan Instead of Massive Nike Shoe Deal

LeBron James is nothing short of a superstar in the NBA. With 4 NBA championships and a whole lot of extraordinary moments, it is quite apt that James is given the title of the ‘King’. In fact, LeBron had plenty of hype surrounding him even as a high-school player.

This hype would translate into reality when James was drafted by the Cavs, in 2003 and took the league by storm. Seeing his potential, Nike would sign him to their brand as a mere 18-year-old for a whopping $90 Million dollars.

Since then, LeBron has remained in partnership with Nike and has released over 15 signature shoes with the brand that many players wear today. The fact is that shoe companies look out for rising talent in the NBA and sign these athletes to their brand. In light of this, LeBron James shared a story of how he tried to get NBA star, Luka Doncic, to sign with Nike.

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LeBron James’ Shoe Deal Plan for Luka Doncic

Back in 2020, LeBron explained on an episode of the ‘Road Trippin Podcast’ on how he tried to get Luka Doncic to sign with Nike. LeBron spoke about how Luka’s game was similar to his – involve other teammates while also scoring for your team. Thereafter, he explained that he even tried to sign Luka to Nike.

LeBron explained that he wanted to start the ‘Team LeBron’ brand with Nike where he would sign players and even expressed the fact that he wanted Doncic to be his first-ever signing. However, the folks at Nike weren’t prepared and Luka signed a deal with ‘Air Jordan.’

When Doncic found out about this incident, he was taken aback with gratitude.

“I felt special. Somebody sent it to me. That’s how I got to know it. It’s something special. It’s something I can’t explain,” said the Mavericks’ guard. [h/t usatoday.com]

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Luka Doncic in the NBA

In their most recent matchup, the Mavericks overcame the Los Angeles Clippers behind a 51 point performance from Doncic. In addition to this, the Slovenian star would also dish out 6 assists and grab 9 rebounds, ensuring a 7 point victory over the Clippers.

But ‘Luka Magic’ has been running his show in the NBA for quite some time now. In his four years in the NBA, Luka has amassed 45 triple-doubles. This is 35 more than what LeBron achieved during his first four years in the league. In light of the fact that both Luka and LeBron have similar styles of play, the points generated off of Doncic’s assists this season is already 83% of what LeBron achieved during the entirety of his 4th year in his career. This just goes to show that Doncic possesses unreal potential!

However, with the Mavs trading away Luka’s co-star, Kristaps Porzingis, the team relies on Luka to carry them forward. Like any other player, even he has the same goal of winning a title. Only time will tell the tale of what Luka’s achievements in the NBA will turn out to be.