Luka Doncic is now unquestionably the club's offensive leader, unseating the 21-time All-Star power forward for the first time. At 40, James has been the NBA's oldest player for two years running, and is only racking up further mileage as he goes.

From the moment the trade happened, most could see Los Angeles shifted its timeline by swapping Anthony Davis for Luka Dončić. Dončić is six years younger than Davis, and more importantly, AD's departure exacerbated one of the team's biggest issues. L.A.'s lack of interior protection was exposed again and again by Minnesota.

LeBron James wasn’t ready to make any decisions about his future in the painful moments immediately after his 22nd NBA season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round playoff exit.