A benefit to being a franchise like the Los Angeles Lakers is they tend to get lucky and find a superstar to lead them through various eras. That next face is Luka Doncic and the hope is he will be that until he retires after recently signing an extension with the organization.
After getting traded by the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic aims to have a redemption-type season in 2025-26 and be in that MVP conversation. The 26-year-old looks poised to live up to expectations as he is in phenomenal shape and is putting up impressive numbers in EuroBasket so far this summer.
Despite the Slovenian National Team struggling through exhibition play, Doncic has still looked really good. Not many players have his resume at age 26, and the best days for Luka are still ahead of him.
Former NBA and Turkish forward Furkan Korkmaz knows that as he recently paid Doncic the ultimate compliment, saying we will look back on his greatness 10 years down the road, via FIBA Basketball:
“He’s a different guy. He has different skillsets. He has a different mindset. I have played against him a lot and I feel lucky to have played against him,” said Korkmaz, who is two years older than Doncic. “Maybe in 10 years we can say: ‘Yeah, I played against him. He was this good or that good.’ We were lucky to have watched him.”
Korkmaz has had the opportunity to compete against Doncic in the NBA and internationally, so he knows what the Lakers star is capable of.
In 28 games with the purple and gold last season, Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists on 43.8% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range. And that was after returning from a calf injury and admittedly not being in the best shape.
After this offseason, the hope is that those stats can increase for L.A. It is not out of the question for Doncic to average a triple-double next season with an improved roster. He appears serious about the new phase in his career and hopefully, those commitments pay off.
Greg St. Jean looking forward to Luka Doncic & LeBron James building chemistry
For a superstar to change scenery mid-season is a daunting challenge, along with trying to adjust to a new situation and playstyle. Luka Doncic and the Lakers tried to make it work on the fly, but it eventually caught up to them.
It’s a new year now though and L.A. assistant coach Greg St. Jean is looking forward to Doncic and LeBron James building more chemistry during training camp. Having two generational passers is something other teams can’t say they have, so the Lakers need to find a way to make this tandem work.
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