The Los Angeles Lakers officially introduced the newest member of the roster, superstar guard Luka Doncic, at a press conference on Tuesday morning. The entire basketball world was shocked when news came down of the move that also sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, but arguably the best young star in the NBA is now a Laker.
The shock wasn’t just confined to the fans as the players themselves had no clue the move was coming. Even Doncic himself thought he would spend his entire career with the Mavericks, but now that he is with the Lakers, he is very excited for what is to come.
“I would say, like you said, I thought I was gonna spend my whole career there because I think loyalty is a big word for me and I was trying to stay by that,” Doncic said at his introductory press conference. “But this for me is a fresh start. I get to play in L.A. where the fans are amazing. And I got the ocean here, so it’s a really good thing for me. But really, I’m really excited to be here. I get to play for the Lakers, not everybody can say that. Many, many legends played here with many, many championships. That’s pretty cool.”
Doncic said the right thing about the Lakers in regards to championships. He understands that’s the expectation with this franchise and his goals are right in line with that.
“Obviously, yeah. That’s it. Win the championship,” Doncic added when asked about what he wants to prove after being traded. “You don’t come here for nothing else but championships. So, I have everything left to prove. And the goal is to win the championship.”
The ultimate goal is always to win a championship and Doncic came close last season, leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. Now with the Lakers, that pressure will be even greater, but he is embracing that and Doncic has proven time and time again that the bigger the pressure, the better he performs.
The Mavericks felt they couldn’t accomplish that with him at the forefront and many reports pointed to a Doncic issue with controlling his weight and overall discipline as being reasons they wanted to move on. But the newest Lakers superstar pushed back against that notion.
“It’s a motive. I know it’s not true. I know. But it’s a motive,” Doncic said of the criticism about his conditioning and durability. “I came here, one of the biggest clubs in the history of sports, it’s a big motive for a long run here.”
Being traded isn’t easy, and Doncic revealed how he first reacted when it went down.
“Honestly, it was hard at first. That first day was really hard. I felt like this last 48 hours was one month, like two days ago was one month ago. So emotionally, it was really hard. But every day there [after] like today was much better. I’m just very happy to be here for this opportunity. This is the Lakers. It’s one of the best clubs in history. So I’m excited to be here.”
Doncic is already one of the most talented players in the league, but these reports could motivate him even more now with the Lakers. An angry Doncic looking to shut up the haters is a scary proposition for the rest of the league and bringing the Lakers another NBA Championship is the best way to quiet all of his doubters.
LeBron James called Luka Doncic right after trade to Lakers
Luka Doncic is also extremely excited to be able to play with and learn from LeBron James. And James reached out to Doncic immediately following the news of the trade.
“He called me right away. He was in New York, so he called me right away,” Doncic said. “We didn’t talk much because he said ‘I understand what you’re feeling.’ But that was really nice of him just to call me right away and welcome me to L.A.”
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