Luka Dončić‘s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers began with a whirlwind 72 hours. From the time he was sprung from sleep by a call from an associate on Saturday, Feb. 1, informing him he was being traded from the Dallas Mavericks to being introduced as the Lakers’ latest star three days later, it was nonstop.
Dončić boarded a private jet from Dallas to L.A. on Sunday evening — along with Maxi Kleber, who was also part of the deal. Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, met them at the airport. Then Dončić was whisked away to the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills, where Lakers coach JJ Redick made a late-night visit, welcoming his former teammate whom he’d now be calling plays for.
Monday opened with an 8 a.m. appointment at UCLA, where Dončić underwent an extensive physical examination, sources told ESPN, leaving the Lakers confident that the left calf strain that had sidelined Dončić since Christmas Day could be managed. Dončić then went from UCLA to El Segundo to tour the Lakers’ practice facility, where he spent more time with Pelinka and Redick.
Meanwhile, the Lakers scrambled to roll out the welcome wagon for the 25-year-old basketball prodigy. On Sunday morning, equipment manager Brian Cuatt reached out to a local uniform finisher in Santa Fe Springs to get Dončić’s No. 77 jersey stitched and ready for the guard’s arrival. (Complete with a caron over the first “c” and accent over the second “c” in his last name — an update to the lettering kit from when Sasha Vujačić played for L.A. but his uniform just had “Vujacic” stitched on the back.)
Though Cuatt had Dončić’s jersey and shorts pressed and ready in his locker by the time of the tour, there was one highlight of the experience that Dončić missed out on: the display case outside of team governor Jeanie Buss’ office — which normally shows off the 11 championship rings the franchise won in L.A. since the Buss family bought the team, in all their sparkling diamond glory — was empty.
The symbolism was twofold. The rings were on loan to UCLA Health, one of the Lakers’ brand partners, which brought them to Dubai for a public event. Their absence was a literal indicator of how the team has already positioned itself to be able to market the Slovenian Dončić as the first international superstar to be the face of the franchise. And figuratively, the symbolism was even more striking: Dončić is the player the Lakers are banking on to fill that display case with even more rings.
The whirlwind has continued for Dončić in the three weeks since. With his new team hosting his old team Tuesday in L.A., in what’s sure to be an emotional night, here are the moments that have defined his Lakers launch, including his growing partnership with Lakers’ front man LeBron James.
