It's safe to say that Los Angeles Lakers fans were already excited for the upcoming season, and especially to watch Luka Doncic dominate. But now after hearing the latest words of Lakers CEO Jeanie Buss, fans are no doubt even more on the edge of their seats waiting for next season.
Buss recently appeared on a Slovenian radio show and spoke about the trade that first brought Doncic to Los Angeles. "Nobody knew the trade was going to happen. I knew but he (Doncic) didn't know," Buss said. "I've never had a player come to the Lakers and be as sad as he was, because the trade was a huge surprise to him, so he had to process it ... He had to process what happened, and I think now he's embraced the Lakers, and he's all about LA."
Jeanie goes on to explain the unique connection that exists between Luka and the Lakers, and points out that it sort of existed even before the trade. "With Luka, the last time I saw Kobe Bryant alive was when he brought his daughter Gianna to the Lakers game to see Luka play, because Luka was Gianna's favorite player. And so they've always been connected in some way. "
Buss states Doncic has embraced the Lakers
These words should serve to light a fire under every die-hard Lakers fan. There was already palpable excitement for number 77 to suit up in October and begin his first full season in Los Angeles, but this understanding of where he was at months ago versus now serves to put things in perspective.
Of course it would make sense that a guy who just got traded away from his home team of seven years would feel a bit confused and disoriented for a bit after the move to a new city and team. The shock factor in getting traded as a franchise superstar has probably been undersold in Luka's case, and it was undoubtedly part of why he didn't look quite like himself in the second half of the 2024-25 season.
Now, as Buss explains, the surprise of being traded has completely faded away, and in its place is a hunger and a desire to win. We saw how much passion Doncic brought to the court in Dallas, and now Lakers fans can look forward to him bringing that same energy every night.
So it's definitely safe to say LA's fanbase just got all the reason they needed to crank their hype meter for this coming season all the way up to 11. A motivated Luka Doncic is a scary Luka Doncic, and now the rest of the Western Conference has to deal with it.