When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic and later signed him to a contract extension, they locked down their next superstar for years to come as the 26-year-old enters his prime.
As is always the case in the Lakers organization though, expectations will be high moving forward as they are about winning championships.
To his credit, Doncic has embraced those expectations from day one and is not shying away from them now. This past offseason, Luka notably got into the best shape of his life, taking his body transformation seriously in order to reach the next level as a player.
In an interview with Snoop Dogg on Access Hollywood, Doncic discussed how he wants to follow in the footsteps of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and bring championships to Los Angeles:
“Kobe brought so many championships here. LeBron brought a championship here. So I want to be the next one to do that, for sure. I met Kobe, I’m playing with LeBron, just as a little kid in Slovenia, I just wanted to play basketball. Just wanted to touch the NBA. And now I’m playing with the best.”
Many didn’t view the Lakers as championship contenders going into this season, but Doncic has gotten off to an exceptional start and led them to a 12-4 record. With James now returning to the lineup, the Lakers have a chance to be one of the top teams in the West and compete for a title.
Doncic has already made the NBA Finals once when he was with the Dallas Mavericks, but getting back there and winning it all is clearly what motivates him at this stage of his career. In that regard, he is very similar to both Bryant and James, who were both able to win it all within four years after first suiting up in purple and gold.
Luka Doncic: Sharing court with LeBron James on Lakers is special
Luka Doncic grew up idolizing LeBron James and now getting the chance to be teammates with him on the Lakers is not something the superstar is taking for granted.
“Honestly, just sharing the court with him. It’s the 23rd season. It’s insane,” Doncic recently said. “Just sharing the court with him is special. He sees things that other people can’t. He’s here to help us all, so it’s amazing. It’s only his first game back, and he plays amazing, so I’m excited to play some more.”
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