EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers’ standards, and their ambitions, never change. Right now, Banner No. 18 is the first priority, not only to get back to the top of the mountain but to enable Laker fans to sneer at their Boston Celtics counterparts.

But that’s only one of the storylines surrounding this coming season. The one that might not be the most important but very likely will be the most enduring, especially with the national media: Whose team is this, anyway: Luka’s or LeBron’s ?

Going into the 2025-26 NBA year, which for the Lakers begins with Media Day player interviews on Monday, amateur Lakerologists will be watching LeBron James and Luka Doncic closely for signs of … what? Tension? Friction? Wariness? Even – gasp! – harmony?

Maybe, hopefully, this will be so much static, a projec

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