LeBron Is a Sixer, Luka Runs LA, and Bronny Is Your Group Chat's New Favorite Argument

Thursday night was the NBA's version of seeing your ex at the grocery store with their new partner. Everybody's being polite. Everybody's a little weird about it.

In Los Angeles, the Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 114-110 at Crypto.com Arena behind Luka Dončić. Across the country, a 41-year-old LeBron James pulled on a Philadelphia 76ers jersey for the first time and played a preseason game in Brooklyn.

Same night. Different area codes. Let's get into it.

Luka looks like Luka

Dončić scored a game-high 23 points in 25 minutes per the NBA.com box score: 6-of-16 from the floor, 2-of-6 from deep and a perfect 9-of-9 at the line. He also had five turnovers, which, for October, is basically a tax for having fun.

The Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner noted that Dončić and Austin Reaves linked up on the very first play, Reaves hitting a cutting Luka for a bucket and the foul. Reaves, back in the lineup, finished with eight points and eight assists.

The bench sauce was real too. Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 19 on 7-of-10 shooting, and Jake LaRavia added 17. The win moved the Lakers to 2-1 in the preseason, per Bleacher Report's Adam Wells.

The Bronny discourse has entered the chat

Bronny James played 22 minutes off the bench and went for 4 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal and 4 turnovers, per NBA.com.

That stat line is a Rorschach test. If you came in a Bronny believer, you saw a guy running the point, making the extra pass and hitting Mamukelashvili for a spot-up three late in the third (Silver Screen and Roll had that one). If you came in a hater, you saw four turnovers and a 1-of-3 shooting night.

Both sides were very loud online. Both sides are going to be very loud all season. Buckle up.

Our take (opinion): six assists against four turnovers in a preseason game is neither a coronation nor a crime. It's a 22-year-old getting reps. Grading anyone off a single October box score is how you end up deleting tweets in April.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn...

LeBron's debut with Philly was efficient in the most LeBron way possible. He played 18 first-half minutes and scored 10 points on one field goal attempt, going 8-of-8 at the line, with five assists and four rebounds, per the NBA.com box score. The AP's Brian Mahoney wrote that James "may not even need to shoot much" with this roster. One shot! Ten points! Math is undefeated.

The Sixers rolled out a starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron and Joel Embiid, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Noah Levick. Brown led them with 18 points. The bench gave it away late and the Nets won 114-108, but nobody in Philly is losing sleep over an exhibition.

"We're still trying to put each other in the position to be successful and complement each other the best way we can on the floor. But it's going to take some time," James told reporters, per BBC Sport.

Context for anyone who slept through the summer: James joined the Sixers in July for what he has said will be his final NBA contract, and this is his record 24th season, per BBC Sport and the AP. Brown came over in a trade from Boston shortly before James signed. The Sixers open the regular season Oct. 20 at the Knicks, the night New York raises its championship banner, per the AP. No pressure.

So who won the night?

Our take (opinion): the Lakers won the game and Philly won the vibes. Luka at the controls with Reaves as his co-pilot is a real offense, and LA's bench actually looked like a bench. But a starting five with LeBron, Embiid, Brown and Maxey is the kind of thing you build a Super Bowl ad around.

Lakers fans, you're allowed to feel weird watching LeBron in a Sixers uniform. It's fine. We all are.

The Lakers finish the preseason against Golden State in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Oct. 13 (7 p.m. PT), then host Denver on Friday, Oct. 16, per ESPN's schedule. The real games start soon. The arguments already have.