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Shams Charania of ESPN is shedding some light on how Luka Doncic is dealing with his trade to the Lakers and playing with LeBron James.
On the evening of February 1, the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz signed the dotted line on a blockbuster trade that turned the NBA upside down. The move, which happened just a few days before the February 6 deadline, took star player Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers and brought Lakers heavyweight Anthony Davis to the Mavs.
The shock is still wearing off, but Doncic has now played some games alongside LeBron James and the Lakers, so he’s getting a feel for the franchise. Now, a report from Shams Charania of ESPN sheds some light on how Doncic is digging his time in Los Angeles.
Luka Doncic is ‘Loving’ Los Angeles
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, March 4, Charania discussed Doncic’s hard road to get to Los Angeles and how he’s feeling about the move now.
“He had no intention ever in leaving Dallas,” Charania said on the program. “He had just bought a new home in Dallas, for a lofty price. He didn’t want to go anywhere.”
“You think of a player coming from abroad, they’re very committed, they’re loyal, and that’s how he viewed himself with the Mavericks, one team, one city forever. And I think that’s going to carry over to the Lakers,” Charania added.
So, Doncic was very loyal to the Mavs, but the good news is that Charania says that loyalty will carry over to the Los Angeles Lakers. Here’s where things get interesting. Charania adds that the star player is having a great time in Los Angeles and enjoying being among the star players in the league, which, of course, including James.
“I think he’s loving his time in LA, I think he’s loving how the stars are being treated like stars,” Charania said. “It’s Hollywood. It’s making the star players bigger than life, and that’s what we’re going to see with Luka.”
So, according to Charania, it sounds as if Doncic is happy being in the limelight alongside players like James, and he deserves it, after what he’s been through.
The Los Angeles Lakers are No. 2 in the West with a 38-21 record. During his eight games with the Lakers so far, Doncic has averaged 22.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
Luka Doncic Sends Heartwarming Message to Former Teammate
Even though Doncic is a Laker now, he’s still supportive of his former teammates in Dallas. Mavericks all-star Kyrie Irving has suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, the team confirmed on Tuesday, March 4, and will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season. It’s a massive blow to a team that needs all the help they can get.
Not long after is became apparent that Irving’s injury was serious, Doncic took to social media to send a heartfelt message to his friend and former teammate.
“You will come back stronger mi hermano,” he stated on Instagram in his stories section. Doncic and Irving have famously called each other “hermano,” which means “brother” in Spanish. The two have a strong history together, having played together in Dallas for almost two years. The two helped lead the Mavs to the NBA Finals last year before falling to the Boston Celtics.