Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the shocking trade of Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, the question now becomes: When will the superstar make his debut with his new team?
In an appearance on Monday's edition of NBA Today, ESPN's Marc Spears says that the 25-year-old—who has been out of the lineup since Christmas Day after suffering a calf injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves—is targeting next week to make his debut in purple and gold.
"He's in the facility today getting a physical," said the insider. "Press conference tomorrow, and I'm hearing he's targeting next week—the Lakers play at home against Utah next Monday, and on the road in Utah next Wednesday, a potential return from his calf injury."
Marc Spears says we could see Luka Doncic make his Lakers debut by next week 👀🍿
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 3, 2025
“I’m hearing he’s targeting next week, the Lakers play at home against Utah next Monday, and on the road in Utah next Wednesday. A potential return from his calf injury.”pic.twitter.com/2wca8JJuYy
Spears also shared that while there was, "a lot of disappointment, anger, a lot of emotions," when Doncic landed in L.A., he spoke with Lakers executive Rob Pelinka, and "that's when reality started hitting like, 'Yo, I'm a Laker. This is kind of cool, this is great, I'm amongst celebrities, I'm in L.A. There's a history here.'"
"And then after that," he continued. "He went to dinner with an old teammate, JJ Redick. Now he's his head coach."
What a 48 hours it's been in the NBA.
The Lakers, sans Luka Doncic, will take on the Clippers from L.A.'s Intuit Dome on Tuesday, Feb. 4 for a 10:00 p.m. tip off.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic's Lakers Debut Timeline Revealed Amid Calf Injury.
