The future trajectory of the Los Angeles Lakers organization completely changed last February when they acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.
A true superstar at the age of 26 usually doesn’t become available very often in the NBA, but general manager Rob Pelinka pounced on the opportunity and now the Lakers can build around Doncic moving forward.
Doncic was naturally caught off guard by the trade, believing he would spend his whole career in Dallas. It took him some time to get used to his new surroundings, but Luka has looked like a different player to start the 2025-26 season.
In 13 games played so far, Doncic is leading the league in scoring at 35.2 points per game to go along with 8.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists.
Now that he has had time to settle in L.A., Pelinka feels Doncic is more comfortable and is playing with a joy that is contagious to the whole organization, he said in an interview on Spectrum SportsNet before Tuesday night’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers:
“He’s in a comfort zone and you feel like you can see the Luka joy in just the way he plays, it’s contagious. Not just to the 14 other players, but to the fans, to our building. When he pulled up to practice in his Bugatti the other day, I said ‘You are now all L.A.'”
To Doncic’s credit, it didn’t take him long to accept that he was traded and ingratiate himself with his new team. He signed a contract extension the first day he was eligible this past offseason and has made it clear that he now plans to finish his career with the Lakers.
Doncic also expressed that he wants to follow in the footsteps of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James by bringing championships to L.A. and with the way he is playing, they should be in the mix for years to come.
Luka Doncic excited to compete for first NBA Cup
With their win over the Clippers, the Lakers clinched West group B in the Emirates NBA Cup and advanced to the knockout round. This will be Luka Doncic’s first opportunity to compete for the NBA Cup, and he recently expressed his excitement.
“I mean, obviously, I’ll accept money. That’s easy, but I never got more than, I think I never got past the group stage,” he admitted. “So, something new for me. I played in Spain, something like this. So, I like it. Just the courts, please.”
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