Say it aloud as you read the following and convince yourself it doesn’t feel odd: Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. Get used to the discomfort; it might take a while for the pairing of the NBA’s most prominent franchise and the talented guard to mesh.
To start, no trade in recent memory shocked fans and media alike quite as profoundly as the Lakers shipping big man Anthony Davis to Dallas for the five-time All-NBA honoree Doncic. Murmurings of at least one side wanting a fresh start preceded such monumental moves as the Phoenix Suns acquiring Kevin Durant from Brooklyn in 2023 or the Mavericks pairing Doncic with Kyrie Irving two years ago.
But Doncic? To the Lakers? It came as abruptly as one of Luka’s patented no-look passes.
Doncic and Dallas looked, on the outside, like one of those increasingly rare NBA marriages destined to go the distance. Almost immediately after winning Rookie of the Year in 2018-19, Doncic had ingratiated himself to Mavericks faithful with his exciting brand.
Wearing Stetsons to games, showing up rivals like Phoenix’s Devin Booker while flashing a boyish smile, guiding the Mavericks deep into the NBA playoffs: The Dallas metroplex hadn’t seen a young sensation gain such instant cult-like dedication since the Von Erichs were selling out the Sportatorium on a weekly basis.
What’s more, Doncic did so with a presence that seemed comparable to the aforementioned beloved Maverick Nowitzki. While European influence on the NBA exploded before Nowitzki debuted in 1998, no organization had ever built around a Euro import on the way to a championship before the German forward willed the Mavericks there in 2011.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, is a city where star power isn’t just the norm but mandatory. In a star-driven league, no franchise has relied more on big personalities with big 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 always coincided with true superstars guiding the ship.
