Say it aloud as you learn the next and persuade your self it doesn’t really feel odd: Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. Get used to the discomfort; it would take some time for the pairing of the NBA’s most outstanding franchise and the gifted guard to mesh.
To start out, no commerce in latest reminiscence shocked fans and media alike fairly as profoundly because the Lakers transport massive man Anthony Davis to Dallas for the five-time All-NBA honoree Doncic. Murmurings of no less than one facet wanting a recent begin preceded such monumental strikes because the Phoenix Suns buying Kevin Durant from Brooklyn in 2023 or the Mavericks pairing Doncic with Kyrie Irving two years in the past.
However Doncic? To the Lakers? It got here as abruptly as one in all Luka’s patented no-look passes.
Doncic and Dallas regarded, on the surface, like a kind of more and more uncommon NBA marriages destined to go the space. Nearly instantly after successful Rookie of the Yr in 2018-19, Doncic had ingratiated himself to Mavericks trustworthy together with his thrilling model of offense—a method that one might describe as melding parts of former Dallas greats Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki in a body that belied the guard’s expertise.
Sporting Stetsons to video games, displaying up rivals like Phoenix’s Devin Booker whereas flashing a boyish smile, guiding the Mavericks deep into the NBA playoffs: The Dallas metroplex hadn’t seen a younger sensation achieve such instantaneous cult-like dedication for the reason that Von Erichs had been promoting out the Sportatorium on a weekly foundation.
What’s extra, Doncic did so with a presence that appeared similar to the aforementioned beloved Maverick Nowitzki. Whereas European affect on the NBA exploded earlier than Nowitzki debuted in 1998, no group had ever constructed round a Euro import on the best way to a championship earlier than the German ahead willed the Mavericks there in 2011.
Los Angeles, in the meantime, is a metropolis the place star energy isn’t simply the norm however obligatory. In a star-driven league, no franchise has relied extra on massive personalities with massive video games. From Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers’ peaks have all the time coincided with true superstars guiding the ship.
The custom continues right this moment with LeBron James. In the identical manner the Lakers had been Magic’s workforce within the ‘80s and Kobe’s workforce for many of the 2000s, the Lakers of the 2020s are LeBron’s—even when James has arguably not been the Lakers’ greatest participant in 2024-25.
That distinction belongs to Davis, which solely made the commerce that rather more gorgeous. At 25.7 factors, 11.9 rebounds, and a couple of.2 blocks per recreation, Davis was having top-of-the-line seasons of his profession—actually his greatest since 2019-20 when, not coincidentally, he helped the Lakers win their final championship.
Davis going for 26 factors, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his Feb. 8 debut as a Maverick, then roaring to the approving applause of the group, made for a stark distinction with Doncic’s first two video games as a Laker.
Video games of 14 and 16 factors with 4 assists in every of his first two video games with Los Angeles had been nicely off the 28.6 and eight.2 Doncic averages for his profession. Committing 5 turnovers in a kind of video games is probably the most troubling of Doncic’s preliminary Lakers stats, significantly within the context of dropping a call to the lowly Utah Jazz.
With the hole between internet hosting a first-round Western Convention playoff collection and showing within the play-in separated by solely 3 1/2 video games as of Valentine’s Day, the Lakers have little time to endure rising pains if they’re to contend for a title in 2025 with Doncic and James.
However the final motivation, and doable hidden genius of the stunning Doncic commerce is that it might not be a transfer made with 2025 in thoughts.
James is averaging a nonetheless excellent 24.3 factors, 9 assists and seven.7 rebounds per recreation in 2024-25. His stat line additionally highlights what makes Doncic an odd match, as the 2 superstars play related types, each predicated on dominating the ball.
However when James debuted within the NBA in 2003, Doncic was throwing behind-the-back passes to preschoolers in Slovenia. The Lakers’ time as James’ workforce is approaching an finish, and Los Angeles wants the following star who can fill that function—a job that has all the time been a requisite for his or her 12 championships since transferring from Minnesota.
It’s a job Doncic must develop into. Rumors surfacing after his commerce that Dallas brass were unhappy with his conditioning are the furthest a Laker star can get from the franchise’s beloved icon, Kobe Bryant.
With a recreation like Magic’s, nevertheless, Doncic has the instruments to develop into the following face of the franchise. It’s simply going to take a while for all events to get used to it.
