Lakers support Doncic: Transformation and New NBA Leadership

The intermittent diet was paused for a few hours. In Katowice, Poland, special dishes were served. For Jeanie Buss, governor of the Los Angeles Lakers, a salad; for Rob Pelinka, president of basketball operations and general manager of the Lakers, fish; and for Luka Doncic, a steak with vegetables and salad, the man for whom they traveled more than 9,600 kilometers. The Lakers representatives made it clear at a lunch at the end of August that if something was important to Doncic, it was also important to them. The 26-year-old star was preparing to test his transformed body, the result of months of intense training and dietary discipline (including a daily 16-hour fast), competing for Slovenia in the EuroBasket. This, a month before the start of the preseason for the next NBA season. The Lakers intended for their support of Doncic’s participation in the EuroBasket to be evident.

“Luka feels great pride and appreciation for his roots and for playing for his country,” Pelinka commented. “I think in the relationships we have with our players, the Lakers want to be aware of the players’ passions and who they are as people, and then support them. Therefore, in Luka’s case, it was a very easy decision to support.”

Rob Pelinka

In addition to the opportunity to build trust between the player who signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension on August 2 and the team’s management, the EuroBasket was an opportunity for the organization to establish best practices to align with its new star. An opportunity the team didn’t have after the shocking February trade. Before and after each game, a chat group was created that included Pelinka, Dr. Leroy Sims, director of player performance and health for the Lakers, Lara Beth Seager, brand director and business manager for Doncic, and Javy Barrio, Doncic’s physiotherapist. The Lakers’ general message to Doncic’s team was: “‘Hey, whatever we can do to help, we’re here'”, according to a source close to Doncic. Dr. Sims traveled to Poland, as did Kurt and Linda Rambis, important figures from the Lakers. Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean joined the Slovenian staff as an assistant and spent 40 days with the team during the tournament, with games in Slovenia, Germany, Poland, and Latvia. The Lakers even made their equipment manager available to Slovenia as a resource, according to sources, when Doncic’s team needed equipment. Doncic’s desire to play for his country, and his public dedication to radically transforming his physique, demonstrated his new level of control over his career, after a transfer that was out of his control. The Lakers knew that, to demonstrate their belief and appreciation for Doncic, they needed to show a corresponding investment. And they hope that the return arrives not only in the last days of LeBron James’s stage, but that it extends much further in the role they want Doncic to play for the franchise. While the Lakers cheered him on, Doncic dominated the EuroBasket. He was named to the All-Tournament Team and averaged 34.7 points per game, the most for a player in a single EuroBasket since Nikos Galis averaged 35.6 points for Greece in 1989. Doncic scored more points (243) than minutes played (233) and elevated his game in the playoffs, averaging 40.5 points in two elimination games. In Slovenia’s 99-91 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals, the eventual gold medal winner, Doncic’s team led for 26 of the 40 minutes. Germany was behind for only 18 minutes in total in their six games in the tournament before facing Slovenia. The Lakers’ coaching staff, according to team sources, was impressed with how Doncic moved compared to how he played in the second half of last season, when he was hampered by a persistent calf strain. His improvement was noted in Doncic’s quickness in breaking double teams. It was noted in his jump off the ground. He even looked defensive, something that has always been a weak point in what is already a Hall of Fame-worthy resume.

At one point in the tournament, according to sources, St. Jean showed a video edit of Doncic’s defensive effort to Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulić. St. Jean believed that Doncic, beyond his offensive brilliance, was also the team’s best defensive player. The edit showed, possession by possession, Doncic’s correct positioning, communication with his teammates, and overall commitment.

Pelinka also saw it and registered it as a step forward in Doncic’s leadership ability.

“I support players playing basketball in the offseason from a leadership standpoint,” Pelinka said. “I think you could say in a sense that part of the offseason and the current perspective of basketball, especially in the United States, is focused on individual work. And I think that kind of team environment can be lost.”

Rob Pelinka

This was part of the cost-benefit analysis that Pelinka considered when supporting Doncic’s participation in the EuroBasket. Yes, more basketball and additional activity could put a player at risk of injury, a fear that materialized when a teammate fell on his leg against Latvia on August 16 and Doncic suffered a contusion on his right knee. Even so, Pelinka said he would make the same decision.

“There are risks in everything,” he said. “There are risks in overly individualized training and in wearing down muscles or joints that way. Luka is incredibly thoughtful about the way he approaches his way of improving as a basketball player. And I think you can say that he is in the highest form of himself when he is in a competitive environment. That’s what encourages him.”

Rob Pelinka

With the start of the preseason at the end of this month, Doncic and the Lakers see their summer in the EuroBasket as a perfect preparation for next season. Doncic led a Slovenian team full of players, as a league source described, mostly with talent below the NCAA Division I level, to the quarterfinals of one of the world’s most competitive tournaments. What could he do, in a full season, with LeBron James and Austin Reaves? While Doncic and the Lakers used the summer to demonstrate their mutual commitment, the season will bring new challenges to meet the expectations of both. Doncic has had difficulty maintaining healthy habits within the rigors of an 82-game season, constant travel, and managing the stress that comes from losses (or even the joys of victories). And for Pelinka and the Lakers, it’s one thing to put together an international itinerary; it’s quite another to put together a deal to improve this star-studded roster and find the trade assets to do so. Even so, summer provided a stable base before any rocky terrain that both sides may have to navigate. The experience, Doncic said, already made him feel more connected to L.A. “The support from the Lakers organization and Laker Nation [was] incredible,” he said. “It meant a lot to me that Rob, Jeanie, Kurt, Linda, and Dr. Sims came to Poland and that Lakers fans were watching the EuroBasket and cheering for Slovenia.” And Doncic’s game reminded the Lakers that there is no time to waste waiting for LeBron’s era to end before building Luka’s.

“Luka’s play in the EuroBasket made it clear to everyone in basketball that he is on that incredibly short list of candidates for ‘best player on the planet,’ if not at the top,” Pelinka said. “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 present. Having Luka as possibly 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.”

Rob Pelinka

L.A. will begin the preseason with 14 players on the roster, including Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million), and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) with expiring contracts. They can include one of their first-round picks from 2031 or 2032 in a potential deal. And with Doncic signed long-term, the Lakers are open to signing a player with a contract that extends beyond 2026, according to sources. “If there are smart ways to pour into our championship aspirations for next year, we will execute them,” Pelinka said. “And we see having those two players on our team next year [as] an important moment, and we will continue to try to do everything we can to deliver this franchise its 18th championship.” After this summer of coincident investment towards that goal, there is certainly alignment.

“He emphasizes every day that his goal is to win a championship,” said a source close to Doncic. “He trusts the front office to do their part, and he trusts what they are building.”

Source close to Doncic