The Los Angeles Lakers are looking ahead to a bright future for the franchise with 26-year-old point guard Luka Doncic at the helm. The team acquired him with a shocking midseason trade from the Dallas Mavericks in what was quite a heartbreaking development for the reigning Western Conference Finals MVP.
Despite planning to spend the rest of his NBA career in Dallas, Doncic is adjusting well to life in Los Angeles, as he revealed to European media during his post-game press conference after the Milwaukee Bucks’ 106-126 loss.
“Good, I think good. As I always say, things are getting better every day. I like the sea, so I enjoy it quite a bit. And well, I’m adapting pretty well.”
Doncic has been on a rough Eastern Conference road trip with the Lakers right now, but he has previously also mentioned his fondness for the ocean. The warm weather in LA will likely remind Doncic of the time he spent in Madrid, Spain, so the city is definitely a huge plus for him.
He’s looking more comfortable on the court with every passing game. He tried carrying the Lakers to a win against the Bucks, putting up 45 points (14-27 FG) with 11 rebounds in the loss.
He’s averaging 26.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists with the Lakers since joining, hoping to boost his numbers as the season progresses and the Lakers prepare themselves for a Playoff push.
The Lakers fell to a third-straight loss tonight after getting off to a 12-2 start with Doncic as a playing member of the roster. Luka discussed the same after the game, lamenting the team’s injuries but also stressing the healthy players needed to adopt a winning mentality going forward.
“We’ve got three important players out. So it’s always going to be tough when there are three to four starters out. But I experienced this last year, the winning teams always go through something. I think we are experiencing that now. We gotta learn from that. We need to go into the next game with a mentality that we can win.”
Even though Doncic was prepared to spend his life fighting for the Mavericks on the court, he’s going to switch his loyalties to the Lakers and the city of Los Angeles. The city is embracing its new superstar, who has been surprisingly patient with him despite his slow start to life on the Lakers.
Everyone understands that the adjustment Doncic is going through isn’t the same as any other midseason trade, as he might have been one of the three players in the NBA who never imagined they could get traded this season.
Now that the change has settled in, Doncic just needs to unlock a new level and help the Lakers compete at a championship level.
