Just because it wasn’t the moment everyone expected, it was still a moment nonetheless. A basketball season is 82 chances for a player or a team to do something special, whether it’s the first time Luka Doncic and LeBron James play together as teammates or whether it’s a random Saturday game without either of them.
In anticipation that Saturday would be that first moment for James and Doncic, ESPN flexed the game into a national broadcast only to see them on the end of the Lakers’ bench, both in sweats. Even center Mark Williams, the Lakers’ other key deadline acquisition, wasn’t available, his trade to the team still pending.