Can Luka Dončić follow the Lakers’ standard set by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James?

LOS ANGELES — Luka Dončić’s Los Angeles Lakers debut, through no fault of his own, was virtually meaningless.

Strip away all the pomp and circumstance — from the No. 77 jerseys that were everywhere at Crytpo.com Arena to the Serbian music that was blaring before the game (Ana Bekuta, anyone?) and the symbolic significance of Dončić being introduced last, and after LeBron James, in pregame introductions — and the 132-113 rout of Utah taught us almost nothing about how he’ll fit in Lakers Land.

Or, rather, Luka Land.

The 25-year-old whose shocking trade from Dallas sparked a global discussion about his weight and conditioning, and the crucial question of whether he is truly willing to make the most of his transcendent talents en route to becoming the next Lakers legend, was predictably rusty in his first game since being sidelined since Christmas Day by a calf injury.

He had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes, missing nine of 14 shots, with a plus-15 mark that said it all about the impact he will almost surely have here. The Lakers (32-19) are now tied with the Houston Rockets for the fourth spot in the Western Conference.

Still, the more telling scene in this building took place four nights before.

On the first night that Dončić was an official member of the storied franchise, the incumbent superstar, James, followed his regular pregame routine and took the floor at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time for a game against Golden State that was still four hours away. This isn’t the norm in the NBA, where most players — Dončić among them — typically don’t hit the hardwood until about two hours before tipoff. But James, as we’ve come to learn in these past 22 seasons, is anything but normal.

According to people who saw the scene unfold on Thursday night, Dončić’s attending family, including his father, Sasa, took notice of the dedication on display as they sat near the court. There was a sense of respect and amazement, the people said, with Sasa repeatedly turning around to watch James’ remarkable regimen.

James didn’t stop there, though. At the ripe old age of 40, he went on to turn in a 42-point, 17-rebound, eight-assist outing that left the Warriors in his wake and put him in the history books (again) alongside Michael Jordan. James, who has been setting the league-wide standard in the work ethic department for so long now, wasted no time in showing Dončić what it will take to quiet all the noise that surrounds him.

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If this is going to work like the Lakers hope — and most likely, it will — then their new franchise centerpiece must accept the truth that comes with joining this particular franchise. There is a purple-and-gold blueprint that has been laid out before him, one that started with the “Mamba Mentality” of the late Kobe Bryant and was continued by James in his incredible conquest of Father Time.

While Dončić is known to have fallen well short of that standard to this point, the irony of how this deal went down is that all the criticism coming his way in the Dallas departure might be the very thing that motivates him to meet that mark. Or, at the very least, to take his game to the sort of level that sends Mavericks fans even deeper into the post-Dončić abyss. (Is that even possible?)

Think about the Bryant thread for a moment, and the confusing part it played in this Dončić chapter being written in the first place.

Dončić was jettisoned by a general manager in Dallas’ Nico Harrison who knew Bryant as well as anyone from his time as his Nike representative. Yet Harrison determined that Dončić wasn’t cut from that same cloth. So he decided to send the five-time All-Star the Lakers’ way rather than give him that five-year, $345 million supermax deal this summer. As has been reported, league sources say the Mavericks’ concerns about Dončić’s habits, on and off the floor, were a major factor in the decision.

Meanwhile, the front office on the other side is run by Rob Pelinka who also knew Bryant as well as anyone from his experience as his longtime agent and close friend. Yet with the Lakers having determined that Anthony Davis wasn’t “alpha” material, and the omnipresent pressure to employ the biggest stars, Pelinka chose to ignore all those warning signs and peg Dončić as the partner for this next great Lakers era. And with good reason.

Per team sources, it wasn’t hard to convince Lakers owner Jeanie Buss that this was a move worth making. She spoke with Pelinka about the covert trade talks in the days following Pelinka’s Jan. 7 meeting with Harrison in Dallas — both over the phone and in person — giving the green light to go get the player who shared a special connection with Bryant.

On the night of Dec. 29, 2019, less than a month before Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gigi and seven others would die in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, Calif., the retired Lakers star had an unforgettable interaction with Dončić before his former team played the Mavericks.

Dončić was Gigi’s favorite player, and so her father brought her out to say hello and take a picture before the game. Kobe trash-talked Luka in Slovenian, for good measure. That was the last time Buss, and so many others, would see Kobe and Gigi alive. Yet even with that emotional connection, this was a basketball decision that went well beyond that bond.

Luka Dončić and Kobe Bryant, with daughter Gigi, share a laugh in December 2019. (Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)

Ask almost anyone around the league, and there’s a strong sense that Dončić’s incredible production is more than enough to justify the Lakers’ move. Lakers sources say there is a strong sense of confidence that Dončić’s best is yet to come, with their internal calculus influenced, in part, by a belief that dates back to Phil Jackson’s days of old.

The legendary Lakers coach always believed that players didn’t truly mature until they were in their late 20s, meaning there was still time to develop the right approach when a player is of Dončić’s age. There’s another side to this coin, too, the reality that players like Allen Iverson, Magic Johnson and, yes, Jordan dominated the sport while managing a wild side that so many predicted would lead to their demise.

Shaquille O’Neal had his well-chronicled struggles with laziness — often highlighted by Bryant — but was still a cornerstone in three Lakers titles before getting traded to Miami by late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss as a 32-year-old.

The hope, as the Lakers see it, is that all this scrutiny sparks something (even more) special inside of Dončić. And even before the ball went up in his first true Lakers appearance, there was plenty of reason to believe that this would work.

James was leading the Lakers huddle before tipoff, with Dončić on the outside looking in, when he decided to share a message that was identical to the one sent to Kevin Love during their Miami Heat-les days so long ago.

“Luka, be your f-ing self,” James said. “Don’t fit in. Fit the f— out.”

“Luka, be your f—ing self. Don’t fit in, fit the f— out.”

-LeBron to Luka 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/qj8Tbk8M8R

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 11, 2025

Dončić, who has shared his admiration for James for quite some time now, reflected on the moment afterward.

“It’s special,” he said. “For him to say something like that just feels amazing. Gives me confidence. After that speech, it was chills. I’m just happy to be part of it.”

The feeling, quite clearly, is mutual. But with all these questions swirling about his professionalism, the Lakers will be even happier if Dončić finds a way to prove his many critics wrong.

For Dončić and his Lakers, it’s the most important part of their new basketball life.

(Top photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)