Luka Doncic made his long-awaited debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night and neither he nor the team disappointed all those in attendance. The Crypto.com Arena had a playoff-like atmosphere for Doncic’s first game in purple and gold and the Lakers put forth a dominant performance in a blowout win over the Utah Jazz.
Doncic finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in his first game since Christmas Day due to a calf strain. He played just 24 minutes, but the Lakers faithful was locked in to every single move he made, getting loud every time he touched the ball and going crazy with every bucket or amazing pass.
Being a member of this Lakers organization was not something Doncic anticipated happening as he was understandably blindsided by the trade from the Mavericks. As such, the guard admitted to some nerves prior to his debut, but the reception he got from the fans definitely stood out to him.
“Special. The way they received me, everybody, it was amazing to see. I was a little nervous before. I mean, I don’t know the last time I was nervous before a game,” Doncic said. “But once I stepped on the court, it was fun. Just being out there again felt amazing.”
It is not lost on Lakers fans how special Doncic is and he certainly gave them some glimpses of what is to come. The stepback 3-pointer for his first basket as a Laker was classic Doncic and many of the passes he made, particularly a full-court dime to LeBron James, were just outstanding.
The Lakers have now won six straight and Doncic could sense something special with this group as he was watching while working his way back from his calf injury.
“The first game I saw [was against the] Clippers. I just felt that they’re very, very connected on both ends of the floor,” he said. “So, since I came here, I just wanted to play with them. Every game I saw, they played amazing, very connected. For me, I just want to be there with them.”
With Doncic, LeBron and Austin Reaves on the court together the ceiling for the Lakers’ offense is just otherworldly. The ball movement on display against the Jazz was amazing and should only improve as Doncic gets more acclimated with his teammates and gets his legs back under him in his return from injury.
“Yeah, I had some conversations. Honestly, like JJ [Redick] said, they weren’t on target yet,” Doncic said of his passes. “Been out a lot of time, longest of my career. So like I said before, I was just really happy to be out there.”
But one thing that is clear is that the Lakers fans are firmly behind Doncic in everything that he does. He received a special ovation in his first game, and that will only grow more as he continues to dominate in the purple and gold.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic Foundation donates $500,000 to LA Wildfire relief
Luka Doncic is also ingratiating himself to the Los Angeles community off the court as well as his Luka Doncic Foundation announced they are donating $500,000 to support wildfire relief across Southern California.
It is a beautiful gesture from the Lakers’ newest superstar with the foundation also adding that they will work with local organizations to help rebuild play spaces destroyed by the fires.
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