1 hour ago
3
It has been nearly a year since the most shocking trade in NBA history turned Luka Doncic’s world upside down.
If he could go back in time, transporting himself to the moment he was overwhelmed with grief after learning the Dallas Mavericks had dealt him to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, he knows what he’d tell himself.
“I’d probably say it’s all going to turn out good,” Doncic told the California Post. “At that time, I didn’t know. I was shocked. But right now, I feel like I’m in a great place.”
Doncic has gone from feeling betrayed by an organization he wanted to play for his entire career, to fully recognizing the opportunity he has in front of him with the Lakers. From feeling heartbroken that a franchise he carried to the 2024 Finals could discard him eight months later, to channeling his emotions into a ferocious MVP campaign.
Doncic leads the league in scoring with 33.6 points a game. He was the leading fan vote-getter for the All-Star Game. And he’s the most-viewed player across the NBA’s social media platforms.
Former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes the trade turned Doncic into a monster, further fueling one of the best players in the league.
“Guys like him, [Nikola] Jokic, they’re just different,” Cuban said, referencing the Nuggets center who went from being drafted 41st during a Taco Bell commercial to becoming a three-time MVP and one-time champion. “Their mindset is different. When you embarrass any of them where he feels like he has been dismissed … ” Cuban flashed a smile as his voice trailed off. “[Doncic] is a competitor.”
Doncic doesn’t recall the exact moment when things began to shift for him following the dizzying trade.
Off the court, he recalled feeling a sense of awe when he saw the Pacific Ocean. And on it, he said he “kinda relaxed and could be myself” in his fourth game with the Lakers, when he had 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in a 123-100 win over Denver.
But last season, it was clear he was still reeling. He was stunned. He was a shell of himself.
Things have changed now.
He constantly jokes with Austin Reaves, with the two of them taking loving barbs at each other through the media. He has made a concerted effort to bond with his teammates, including taking them to a Porsche Driving Experience in October, where he paid for each of them to test Porsche models on a track.
Off the court, there’s a lightness about him. And on the court, there’s a visceral hunger.
Doncic is an offensive savant.
He’s not quick, but he’s crafty. He changes paces as though he were a classical conductor swiftly oscillating between soothing and jarring tempos, leaving his defenders scrambling.
Passing of the torch
This season, he has added to his game. He has embraced Lakers coach JJ Redick’s challenge to pass more. And he has studied LeBron James, who’s the paragon of keeping his body in tip-top form, something for which Doncic has been heavily criticized for not doing in the past.
James knows better than anyone what it’s like to be at the center of media storms, with a seemingly endless deluge of criticism coming from all directions. He has not only passed the baton to Doncic, but he has tried to guide him, giving him the Cliff Notes on how he became one of the two greatest players of all-time.
“Just trying to lead by example, showing him the way, using my voice, using my example, using everything I can,” James said. “He’s now. It’s not like he’s next. He’s right now. I just love the kid. I love everything about him. I just want him to take his journey as far as he wants to go. And I’m happy to be a small part of his journey. Hopefully, he can take something from me.”
Doncic claims he has already learned a lot from James.
“He’s very professional,” Doncic said. “Being at 41 years old, trying to play every game. Just a lot of things, how he’s taking care of his body, how he prepares for games. I think those two are the top ones.”
Doncic already has posted seven 40-plus-point performances this season, including finishing with 46 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in a victory over Chicago on Monday. Perhaps even more impressively, he has kept the Lakers in the playoff hunt as a five-seed despite James missing the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica and Reaves sitting out the last month because of a calf injury.
That said, the sting of the trade and its aftermath have left scars. Doncic’s name was dragged through the mud as tried to cope with his new reality. While moving 1,500 miles in the middle of the season, he was dogged for being out of shape, for being a pole on defense and for not being someone the Mavericks wanted to build around.
Doncic devoted the summer to changing the narrative around his fitness. He dramatically slimmed down by doing two-a-day workouts and intermittent fasting. He entered this season in arguably the best shape of his career.
But when Naji Marshall asked Doncic for his uniform following his 33-point, 11-assist and eight-rebound performance in Dallas on Saturday, cameras caught Doncic saying that he didn’t want to show his body.
“I know a lot of people talk about it,” Doncic said. “I bet all those people would change their spot to be in my spot. So, I’m not worried about people talking about me who I don’t know and I don’t hang out with.”
Still, Doncic waited to give Marshall his jersey until he was in the tunnel of American Airlines Center, away from prying eyes.
“Obviously, I know what’s out there,” Doncic said. “So, I didn’t want to do it there.”
But Doncic is concentrating on his future with the Lakers, not his detractors.
All the way in LA
He’s fully aware that he’s playing for one of the most storied franchises in sports history, a 17-time championship team which has been the home of some of the league’s biggest names, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, James — and now him.
“It’s a big opportunity for me,” Doncic said. “I feel great where I am. The team is good. I feel like I’m myself, personally. I feel great here. I like living in LA. I love the fans. So, I’m really in a good spot right now.”
When asked if he believes the Lakers could be a championship team when he, James and Reaves are all healthy, he didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah, for sure,” Doncic said. “We had a lot of injuries, I think we had the most starting lineups in the NBA. But, obviously, when we’re all healthy, I think we’re a great team.”
When asked if this is the best season he has had yet, he shrugged.
“I don’t know,” Doncic said. “Probably some games, yes. Some games, no. I have a lot to prove left. So, I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve played.”
Maxi Kleber knows Doncic as well as any teammate considering he has played alongside him all eight seasons of his career and was part of the blockbuster trade last Feb. He believes Doncic has matured this season, especially as a leader.
“I think he’s doing a better job of being vocal with guys, telling them where to be, what he wants, how to play with him on the court because he has a style of playing,” Kleber said.
Redick has seen it, too.
“The stuff that we coach him on, whether that’s his interaction with referees, defensive engagement, all of that stuff, that’s all forms of leadership,” Redick said. “I can tell you he’s so much improved from where he was last year.”
As for Cuban, he isn’t surprised by what he’s seeing from Doncic.
He has made it abundantly clear that if he had any influence over Dallas last season, the trade wouldn’t have happened. It left one of the NBA’s biggest superstars feeling spurned, something that’s dangerous for the rest of the league.
Cuban has seen this before, when he let Steve Nash walk in free agency in 2004 and Nash went on to win two MVPs for the Suns. Cuban foresees Doncic having a similar trajectory with the Lakers.
Doncic was already a top-three player in Dallas. Now, a spark has been put to the flame.
It’s a lethal combination if properly harnessed.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Doncic said. “So, I’ve always been hungry. And that’s why I’m where I am right now.”
English (US)