Only a 12 months in the past, Luka Doncic thought he’d be a Maverick for all times. Now, he’s a Laker for the lengthy haul, formally placing pen to paper on a three-year max extension value as much as $165 million.
“I used to be sort of considering, clearly not in the mean time once I acquired traded, however in a while once I began enjoying, I wished to be right here,” Doncic mentioned. “Like I mentioned, that is an incredible group. We now have a belief in one another, so actually, I made a decision fairly fast.”
For Lakers basic supervisor Rob Pelinka, Saturday’s signing was greater than a contract.
“Six months in the past to the day, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Luka Doncic by a commerce the place he got here to our franchise,” Pelinka mentioned. “As we speak, Luka Doncic selected the Los Angeles Lakers.”
The extension isn’t the one factor followers are buzzing about. Doncic confirmed up noticeably leaner, incomes headlines for his offseason conditioning.
“For the primary month, I didn’t play basketball in any respect,” Doncic defined. “We have been extra centered on different issues. So I feel that sort of sparked, the primary 5 days was actually onerous with out basketball. I truly didn’t know what to do, however after it was simpler. However bodily, weightlifting, balancing, these stuff, after which after one month we began enjoying basketball, too.”
Our digital cowl star, Luka Doncic, able to take his sport (and the Lakers) to new ranges of dominance. And this summer time shred has been years within the making.https://t.co/aB19DY7rrL pic.twitter.com/bjVsf1ampI
— Males’s Well being Magazine (@MensHealthMag) July 28, 2025
As for whether or not the commerce sparked a so-called revenge physique, Luka downplayed the thought.
“I might simply say, it was like a contemporary begin for me,” Doncic mentioned. “Clearly, I used to be on my approach of doing it [already], nevertheless it was simply sort of a contemporary begin. I had slightly extra time to get my thoughts on basketball, simply doing different issues. So, I might simply say, like, a contemporary begin for me.”
Trying up on the 17 championship banners hanging contained in the fitness center, Doncic made his mission clear.
“Truthfully, I feel we’ve got a fantastic staff,” Doncic mentioned. “We now have what we have to compete for the championship. I’ll carry no matter I can… We acquired some new nice guys being on the staff. We’re going to go for it.”
Luka, contemporary off signing a max extension: pic.twitter.com/3EVOvN06gW
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 2, 2025
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