The buzz in Los Angeles has been all Luka Doncic as the global superstar finally made his debut for the purple and gold earlier this week against the Utah Jazz.
Doncic had been sidelined for a little over six weeks after suffering a calf injury on Christmas Day, but was finally cleared to play against the Jazz. Doncic did well in his Lakers debut given how much time he had off, recording 14 points, five rebound and four assists in 24 minutes of action.
Doncic appeared to be acclimating to his new teammates as he seemed passive on the floor, but he eventually found some semblance of rhythm and looked like his normal self. The relatively quiet performance shouldn’t come as a shock given all that’s happened the past couple of weeks, but it would be unwise to doubt someone like Doncic rediscovering his groove.
Meanwhile, Doncic is already finding ways to endear himself to the Los Angeles community as he and his foundation donated $500,000 to wildfire recovery efforts. After the game against Utah, Doncic expressed how important it was to give back to his new home.
“I’m always trying to give back to the community. I did that in Dallas. Did it in Slovenia, mostly. But it’s important for me. When I learned that horrible things happen, started to learn a bit more about what happened. It was really important me to give back to the community.”
The wildfires in L.A. have finally been quelled, but now there’s a massive amount of work to do to get the communities and neighborhoods back to their former status. It’ll take a long time considering how much damage was done, but Doncic’s generosity should go a long way towards those efforts.
It speaks to the kind of person that Doncic is to give back so quickly, and the city is fortunate to have a superstar like him care about his new community. Doncic may not quite have his bearings yet in a new environment, but he seems dedicated to making a difference and that’s what really matters.
On the basketball court, the Lakers appears set for years to come but off the court Los Angeles has certainly already embraced Doncic.
Luka Doncic appreciates Dirk Nowitzki attending his Lakers debut
Luka Doncic doesn’t have too many familiar faces to lean on in L.A., but he did get major support from Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki who showed up for his Lakers debut. Doncic said he appreciated seeing Nowitzki and called him a great friend and mentor.
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