When trading for Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers knew they had found their next superstar, hopefully for the next decade-plus.
Obviously, the All-NBA guard needed time to adjust to his new situation and there was even an outside chance that Doncic may have not wanted to be in L.A. considering he didn’t ask to be traded. However, he looks to be settling in with the postseason looming and is ready to embrace the Lakers as his new home, moving on from his Dallas era.
Now, the 26-year-old is wearing the same jersey countless legends have worn, one being Kobe Bryant. A former teammate of Bryant and fellow Slovenian Sasha Vujacic recently spoke highly of Doncic by comparing him to the five-time champion, via Out The Mud Podcast:
“[He’s] incredible… We actually don’t know each other, we know of each other. We had different routes kind of taking us to the NBA. When he first got to the league, what was it, six years ago? I think Marc Stein or somebody called me and they’re like, ‘What do you think about him, he comes from the same country,’ and a couple of them called me and I said, ‘I’ll be honest, I watch him play, and he might be the only one that reminds me a little bit more than anybody else of Kobe.’ The reason being, he plays with a smile, he understands the geometry on a basketball court very well, he’s talented, but there’s something in his eyes that when he plays the game of basketball, it’s just that killer thing that he has. Like he can smell blood, like Kobe always said, ‘I can smell blood.’ You can see that he’s still young, but I think he’s got something of my big bro there, and the way we got him, I think also Kobe might have had something to do with it because of Nico and [Rob Pelinka], let’s just be honest. But he’s special, he’s definitely special, and I think if he stays on the right path, and I think he will, there’s quite a few championships ahead of him.”
What made Bryant special was his demeanor and personality, which hasn’t quite been replicated since. While Doncic plays more loosely, he likes to talk trash to players to get himself going on the floor and that has been on display since arriving in L.A.
In recent memory, there is no better playoff performer than Doncic and having him as the face of the franchise for years to come will be remarkable. Vujacic’s comparison could be extreme, but seeing how competitive the 26-year-old is in high-stakes environments, it is not too far off as he shares a lot of similar qualities as Bryant.
Dorian Finney Smith: Luka Doncic’s reception was well-deserved after changing culture in Dallas
Luka Doncic made his long-awaited return to Dallas since the blockbuster trade and emotions were at an all-time high. Mavericks fans showed their appreciation of Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith believed that was well-deserved seeing how the Slovenian star changed the culture of their franchise.
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