- NBA star Luka Doncic made his Los Angeles Lakers debut Monday in a win over the Utah Jazz. Doncic was traded to the Lakers from Dallas on Feb. 1.
- Doncic was the last player announced during pre-game introductions, following fellow All-Star LeBron James.
- He scored 14 points in 24 minutes despite missing six of his seven three-point shots.
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Luka Doncic received the Hollywood star treatment Monday night, Feb. 10, at Crypto.com Arena as he made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers. It was his first action on the court since the mega-trade that brought him to the Lakers from Dallas on Feb. 1.
Doncic was announced last in pre-game introductions—following fellow superstar LeBron James—and played 24 minutes against the Utah Jazz. He admitted feeling a little on edge as things got underway.
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“The way they received me, everybody, it was amazing to see. I was a little nervous before,” Doncic said. “I remember when was the last time I was nervous before the game, but once I step on the court, it was, it was fun, and just being out there again felt amazing.”
Once the game began, fans saw how he and James will coexist as they learn to play together. Doncic has been out since Christmas Day with an injury. Monday night, he missed six of his seven three-pointers but still finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the blowout win.
Doncic said playing alongside James was definitely a highlight.
“I mean, he’s special. I mean, he sees the game in a different way than a lot of people, and his IQ is insane and just, you know, to have two guys like that on court, I think it’s gonna help the whole team out,” Doncic said.
Going forward, Lakers head coach JJ Redick will have to figure out the playing time and rotations to get the most out of his All-World players. But on Monday night, it seemed he was just enjoying the show.
“In terms of the start, I mean, you know, I’m not not thinking to myself, oh Luka passed to Jackson, oh, LeBron passed to Jackson –– just, hey, it’s good offense,” Redick said. “You know we’re getting good offense, and certainly as you review film and you start building out your database of things within this new group you can start to look where you can create advantages, consistently.”
That could be bad news for the rest of the NBA. The Jazz, who lost the game by 19 points, get a rematch against Doncic and James on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in Salt Lake City.
