The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off training camp this week, which is the first in purple and gold for superstar Luka Doncic after last year’s trade.
Now that he has had time to adjust to his new home, Doncic has spoken about taking on a bigger leadership role for the Lakers alongside LeBron James.
Sometimes that means being vocal and sometimes that means leading by example, but whatever it is, the 26-year-old seems up to the task.
With it being his first training camp in L.A., there is an understandable adjustment period for Doncic. Things seem to be going well though as after Thursday’s practice, the superstar was asked to describe the first few days of camp using three words, per Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
"Fun. Excitement. Hard." – Luka Doncic's response when asked how he'd describe his first Lakers' training camp using just three words.
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) October 2, 2025
JJ Redick is known to run a tough camp, so it’s not surprising to see Doncic describe it as hard. Building team chemistry is also about having fun though and it’s nice to see Luka is embracing that.
The Lakers don’t have a lot of time to build that chemistry as they only have six preseason games before Opening Night later this month. LeBron James, Marcus Smart and some other players are also dealing with minor injuries, making it that much more challenging.
When Doncic was acquired last year though, the team came together on the fly and still managed to have a lot of success. Now with a full training camp together, the sky is the limit for Doncic and the rest of this Lakers team.
One thing that’s for sure is Luka is already ready to go as he is coming off a successful run with Slovenia in EuroBasket in order to prepare for the coming season.
Lakers coach JJ Redick believes Luka Doncic is committed to maintaining body transformation
Getting into this level of shape was extremely important for Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, but it will be equally important to maintain this as he moves forward, something Lakers coach JJ Redick believes he is committed to doing.
“This is his life, this is his routine, this is just a daily commitment to the new standard that he set for himself. His excitement level, not just in what he hopes the season will be, but his excitement level in embracing this new standard was very high.
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