After a summer of pulling Slovenia well beyond their wildest imaginations at EuroBasket 2025, Luka Doncic was ready to bring his brand-new body back to the NBA. Rival players, coaches, and other parties are already wishing the Los Angeles Lakers superstar stayed overseas.
Doncic made his preseason debut for Los Angeles against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. With the Lakers leading the Suns 66-56 at the half, it did not take long for the presence of the superstar point guard to be felt mightily on the court.
At the break, Doncic has posted 22 points, leading the Lakers in scoring with an efficient 6-of-10 from the field. To go with that, the Lakers superstar has also added six rebounds and three assists, while posting an impressive +13 in the box plus/minus.
LUKA DONCIC IS ON FIRE 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/xj8v8OOQOy
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 15, 2025
It is not just about Doncic thriving, everyone around him has been elevated by the impact of the five-time All-NBA First Team member. The NBA better take notice, becuase the message is clear: this is the best version of Luka that the league has ever seen.
Lakers superstar wasted no time showing he's already in midseason form
Austin Reaves has gotten his first opportunity to be the second option to Doncic in this NBA calendar year. So far, Reaves looks like someone who has enjoyed the experience.
The talented offensive guard scored 18 points of his own in the first half for the Lakers, connecting on 6-of-10 from the field, 1-of-3 from deep, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Reaves has been the beneficiary of more laxed defensive coverages after serving as the leading man for each of his previous outings in the preseason.
Luka alley oop to Deandre Ayton 🔥🔥🔥
First of many ! pic.twitter.com/OlZcWh8N0A
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) October 15, 2025
Deandre Ayton has finally gotten his opportunity to share the preseason court with his new floor general too. The Lakers center even got to be on the receiving end of a lob from Doncic in the first half.
That partnership will still need to be developed further. However, Doncic and Ayton showed some initial promise in the pick-and-roll sets they ran together, with the two displaying an early knack of helping generate offense for one another.
No one is perfect. Doncic did post five turnovers in the first half against the Suns, trying to force some passes that were either poorly timed or just not quite available. Even so, that much can be forgiven when witnessing the other promising signs of the debut for the Slovenian superstar.