After months of waiting, Los Angeles Lakers fans are going to be treated to a full season with Luka Doncic leading the franchise.
Doncic wasted no time committing to his new home this past summer, signing a three-year extension on the first day he was allowed to do so. With LeBron James out to start the 2025-26 season, he has an opportunity to show the fans that he’s the right person to lead the team into the future.
The Lakers begin the new year on Opening Night when they play host to the Golden State Warriors. While fans will miss out on seeing James and Curry, they’ll get to see Doncic try and get the purple and gold off on the right foot.
Ahead of the opener, Doncic expressed how much he looks forward to going up against Curry.
“For sure. As an opponent, obviously very hard to guard him. He’s moving all the time, he can shoot from anywhere, so I feel like it’s hard but also exciting,” Doncic said. “Going against a player like that it’s very exciting and for the first game to open up a season it’s going to be a great game.”
Like James, Curry continues to dominate the league in the latter part of his career and there’s reason to believe the Warriors are a sleeping giant in the Western Conference. Golden State’s roster is old on paper, but when healthy can compete with any other team in the league.
Without James, Doncic will have to do some serious heavy lifting to neutralize the threat of Curry’s offensive exploits. Generating good looks has never been an issue for Doncic, but he and L.A. will need to find ways to slow down Golden State defensively. The team struggled for most of the preseason, so there are concerns as to how they’ll handle a Warriors squad that moves the basketball side to side for layups and 3-pointers.
Doncic versus Curry has the potential to be a high-scoring affair, and if the Lakers win it would mark a crucial first step in Doncic’s potential MVP campaign.
Luka Doncic says Lakers need to improve their physicality
There were some serious ups and downs from the Lakers in preseason, especially when head coach JJ Redick opted to go with smaller lineups. As a bigger guard, Luka Doncic can handle guarding up a position but he said that he and the Lakers need to improve their physicality.
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