Zach LaVine Says LeBron James Is His Dream Teammate in 'First Take' Interview

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine mentioned Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward LeBron James as a player he'd love to play with in response to a question from ESPN's Max Kellerman on Friday's edition of First Take.

Kellerman asked LaVine which player would complement him the best.

"There's a lot of dudes out there I'd love to play with, but is it going to be realistic?" LaVine said around the six-minute mark. "Everybody wants to play with the best players in the world, you know. I would love to go out there and play with a dude like LeBron James, but you're not going to get those type of opportunities I don't think."

The 6'6" guard also mentioned that he'd be interested in playing with a point guard who can go up and down the floor or a dominant big man who attracts double-teams and can kick out to open shooters.

As LaVine noted, a James pairing doesn't seem realistic at the moment. Among many other reasons, LaVine is under contract with Chicago through 2022. James' near future is with the Los Angeles Lakers as the team officially entered its championship window this season following the 2019 offseason acquisition of big man Anthony Davis.

But a LaVine and James pairing in a backcourt—perhaps in an All-Star setting in the not-too-distant future—would be fun to watch. If the 24-year-old could get on a shooting hot streak as he's shown to be capable of doing, then a James-Lavine backcourt would be tough to beat.

James is captaining his team for this year's All-Star Game in Chicago on Sunday.

LaVine, who averages 25.3 points per game, did not earn an All-Star bid but will participate in the 3-Point Contest at United Center on Saturday.