Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James congratulated the Los Angeles Dodgers on advancing to the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the NL Division Series 2-0 on Friday night, clinching their trip to the NLCS for the first time since 2021.
“Congrats Dodgers on Advancing to NLCS!!!!” James said on X.
Like James, the Dodgers are seeking their first championship since 2020. Both the Lakers and Dodgers last won a championship in 2020, and are looking to bring another title back to Los Angeles this season. The Lakers’ regular season begins on Oct. 22 with a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James was not the only current or former Laker to congratulate the Dodgers on winning the NLDS. Magic Johnson, a Basketball Hall of Famer who won five NBA championships with the Lakers, now is part of the Guggenheim group that owns the Dodgers.
“Congratulations to my Dodgers ownership partners, Manager Dave Roberts, and all of our Dodgers players and fans tonight!!” Johnson wrote on X. “We are officially going to the National League Championship Series against the Mets! Two HRs from Kiké Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez led us to a 2-0 victory and the pitching from all of our pitchers, starting with Yamamoto, was tremendous. All of our relievers also did a great job tonight!”
The Dodgers won each of their last two games of the NLDS, giving them the opportunity to advance to the next round. The Dodgers had previously lost each of their last two NLDS in 2022 and 2023, but have now earned a playoff series victory for the first time in three years.
The Dodgers will now take on the New York Mets in a best of seven series that begins on Sunday. The first two games of the series will take place at Dodger Stadium, and the next three games will land in New York. If the series goes on to a sixth or seventh game, the series will return to Dodger Stadium.