The Los Angeles Lakers have fully embraced Luka Doncic as their franchise star after signing him to a three-year extension this offseason. Lakers president Jeanie Buss dropped a bold statement about Doncic ahead of his first full season wearing the classic purple and gold jerseys.
The Athletic’s Dan Woike published a piece about Doncic and how the Lakers have helped him this offseason on September 24. Members of the front office, including Buss and Rob Pelinka, were in Poland earlier this month. They were there to support “Luka Magic” as he represented Slovenia in the EuroBasket.
Speaking to Woike, Buss compared Doncic’s international appeal to other Lakers greats like Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. She likes how the 26-year-old superstar perfectly represents the franchise to the world.
“The idea that he is a Laker, it connects us. It’s a global thread. I can’t think of a better representation of Laker basketball than Luka and what he brings to the game. To see it in a different context, a European tournament, it just feels very similar to Kobe or LeBron in the Olympics or Magic Johnson with the Dream Team,” Buss said.
Doncic was among the best players in the EuroBasket, but Slovenia were eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals. He was named to the All-Star Five alongside Franz Wagner, Dennis Schroder, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Alperen Sengun.
Luka Doncic Receives MVP Love in ESPN Survey
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps surveyed 20 NBA executives, coaches and scouts ahead of the 2025-26 season. Bontemps released the results on September 22, with Luka Doncic receiving four MVP votes. He came in third behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“For those voting for Doncic, the expectation is that with health and a full season with the Los Angeles Lakers after his shocking midseason trade, there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be a three-player race,” Bontemps wrote.
One anonymous Eastern Conference executive added Doncic could win the MVP because he’s in shape and motivated. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar also received one vote as the best player in the world right now. The other 19 votes were for “The Joker.”
Doncic also received considerations for being the best player in the world in 2030. He came in second to Victor Wembanyama, who got 16 votes.
Rob Pelinka on Having Optionality with Luka Doncic and LeBron James
In an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin released on September 19, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made it clear that they are not going to wait for LeBron James to retire before building around Luka Doncic.
“In terms of team building, we’ve talked about the importance of having optionality and when I use that word, it’s not to say in the future. I think optionality is also in the now. Having both Luka as arguably the best player on the planet and LeBron James, who is still in the mix of being one of the great players in our game, even at his age, continues to allow us to think carefully about the value of that optionality,” Pelinka said.
James is entering the final year of his contract and will be a free agent next summer. Doncic, on the other hand, signed a massive three-year, $165 million extension last month.