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The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of quite a strange feelings season. The team is 19-9 and the 4th seed in the Western Conference.
Despite this, when you watch the games, it's clear that this team has some glaring issues. Defensively, they're multiple pieces away from being able to compete in the playoffs.
When it comes to shooting, they haven't been much better as of late. In two of their last four games, they've shot below 20% from three. Much to be concerned with currently in LaLa Land.
There has been a constant, however, amid the up-and-down nature of this current season. A budding relationship, some may call bromance, between two of the Lakers' stars.
One from Arkansas and one from Slovenia; how do the two work so well?
Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are the NBA's best bromance
Despite 5,500 miles between them in their upbringing, the pair of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves could not have turned out more like brothers if they tried.
If you told somebody a year and a half ago that the two of them would be not just teammates, not just friends, but equals, the only person who may have believed you would've been JJ Redick.
More: JJ Redick saw the All-Star writing on the wall on day one with Austin Reaves.
Austin Reaves has exploded onto the scene as one of the premier guards the NBA has to offer. Pairing him with one of the most elite players in the game, in Dončić, has been fun to see.
What's been even more fun to see is how their bromance/brotherhood has formed.
The two of them go back and forth with a healthy mix of calling each other stupid, counting each other's dunks (or lack thereof), and also always making sure to compliment what they appreciate about the other's games.
ESPN's Dave McMeniman sat down with both of them prior to their Christmas Day game against Houston and got some great content from the Lakers' star duo.
New ESPN feature: This year’s Lakers are pushed by a trash-talking, joke-cracking, high-scoring duo in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves - whose relationship on and off the court will be key to the team reaching its full potential https://t.co/5BUjuCAR0E
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 24, 2025Luka and Austin both have personalities forged in a competitive fire that has bridged the gap of growing up on opposite sides of the world.
They both want to win.
A team source told ESPN how Luka views Austin: "He's realizing, 'F---, Austin is good! '" It was the same way he loved [Jalen] Brunson and loved Kyrie [Irving]. There's an appreciation for great players."
Despite the aforementioned issues that currently ail this Lakers team, McMeniman states that the relationship between Dončić and Reaves creates a loose vibe in the locker room and "turns down the noise on potential pressure points that could distract a team."
They certainly need that with all the noise that comes with playing for the Lakers.
It's still so early in the NBA, and if you've been following for any amount of time, you know that anything can happen between now and June. Regardless of how this Lakers season shapes up, we've been gifted with one of the best duos in the NBA.
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