The Los Angeles Lakers are still basking in the glow of the stunning trade that brought them five-time All-Star Luka Doncic as part of a secret, late-night mid-season swap.
Doncic, who has played in five games for the Lakers so far, has gradually been building chemistry with LeBron James and his new teammates, and is coming off a spiteful win over his former team, the Dallas Mavericks. The 25-year-old was reportedly as shocked as everyone else about the move, and faced criticism from Dallas' brass over his weight and conditioning issues—a few factors that allegedly caused the Mavs to get fed up with him.
Lakers president Jeanie Buss recently opened up about the circumstances of the Doncic trade and confirmed that Doncic had no idea he was being dealt and that he had unfortunately just bought a house in Dallas prior to the news.
Buss went on to share an emotional tidbit of their first conversation in which Doncic mentioned Lakers great Kobe Bryant:
“When I met him, the first thing I said to him was, ‘You’re going to write your own chapter in the Lakers history book. We’re so excited to have you,’” Buss said on The Rich Eisen Show. “And then he said he really wished that Kobe was there.”
Was the @lakers governor as shocked as the rest of the basketball world when the Luka trade was finally completed?@JeanieBuss took us behind-the-scenes on the #NBA blockbuster:#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/FmVasg8Qpi
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 25, 2025
Powerful stuff.
Doncic and Bryant shared a heartwarming moment during a Mavericks-Lakers game in 2019 which has since been immortalized into a beautiful mural in L.A. Doncic was the favorite player of Bryant’s daughter, Gigi.
"Just for Kobe to know my name was amazing to me," Doncic said in his introductory press conference with the Lakers. "I just wish Kobe and Gigi were here to see this moment."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic’s First Words to Lakers President Jeanie Buss Were About Kobe Bryant.
