Luka Dončić Is ‘Way More Comfortable’ With Los Angeles Lakers Now
Luka Dončić was devastated when the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers last season. He threw his phone at the wall and cried for hours after the trade went down.
Things are different for Dončić now, though. The five-time All-Star has completely moved on from the Mavericks trade and feels “way more comfortable” with the Lakers.
“I’m way comfortable,” Luka Dončić told Dan Woike of The Athletic. “Especially going to training camp, you know, having practice with the guys — like I said, it’s a start for me. But I will feel way more comfortable now.”
Dončić looked like arguably the best basketball player in the world during EuroBasket. He averaged 34.7 points for Slovenia.
A future Hall of Famer, Dončić appeared in 28 games with the Lakers last season after the Mavericks traded him in February. The talented point-forward averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.4 blocks with the purple and gold.
Dončić has lost 30 pounds since last summer, a league source told DallasHoopsJournal. The 26-year-old was listed at 230 pounds with the Mavericks and Lakers last season. He’s at 200 pounds right now.
Dončić enters the 2025-26 season third in NBA history in points per game. He has career averages of 28.2 points with the Mavericks and Lakers.
The Lakers signed Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia this offseason. Head coach JJ Redick is expected to start Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Ayton in 2025-26.
Dončić acknowledged that at this stage of his career, for his teams to be as good as possible, he needs to speak up more.
“I mean, it was probably just something I need to do — especially since I’ve seen a lot of basketball now,” Dončić said. “So I’ve been through a lot — so it was kind of something like, I need to do this to help, to help others.”
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