With LeBron James departing in free agency this offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers are now unquestionably Luka Doncic’s team.
And it appears Doncic is taking his leadership role seriously as he is set to host the entire team for a minicamp in Slovenia next month before the start of training camp, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Luka Doncic is hosting the entire Los Angeles Lakers roster in Slovenia for a four-day minicamp in August, a source close to the Lakers told ESPN. The itinerary will include workouts, golf and some Ljubljana tourism and bonding ahead of training camp.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 29, 2026
Considering how many new players the Lakers added this offseason, this is a great idea by Doncic to get to know each other and begin the chemistry-building process for the upcoming season. The Lakers recently had a minicamp with a few players in Las Vegas during Summer League, but Doncic was not in attendance as he has been back in Slovenia spending time with his daughters all offseason.
In the past when James was the Lakers’ leader, he often held a minicamp of his own in Las Vegas ahead of training camp. That is where Austin Reaves notably turned heads as a rookie to earn an NBA contract with the team.
No one is giving the Lakers much of a chance to compete for a championship this upcoming season, but they feel they are building a roster around Doncic that will give them a chance. Their big moves were re-signing Reaves and adding Walker Kessler via sign-and-trade, while the Lakers also improved their depth by adding players like Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelshvili, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle.
It will take some time for the group to come together and realize their full potential, but traveling to Europe together and participating in Doncic’s minicamp will be a good start to that process. The only question now is whether Jonathan Kuminga will be joining them as the final piece to the puzzle.
Matisse Thybulle spoke with Luka Doncic before signing with Lakers
It is clear that Doncic is now the Lakers’ leader as recent reports stated that he spoke with Thybulle to help convince him to sign with the team. That is now two summers in a row that Doncic was involved in the roster-building process and the recruitment of notable free agents.
With James now gone, Doncic will be the draw for players to join the Lakers in upcoming years.
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