EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — As workers disassembled the stage inside the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice facility, Luka Dončić popped out of the locker room. He was no longer wearing the clean white tee he had on to sign his three-year contract extension Saturday morning with the Lakers or the dark suit he wore for the subsequent press conference.
Dončić changed into his practice clothes for a quick promotional shoot. He grabbed a ball and stood just outside the doorway, well behind the basket and the sidelines, when a grin hit his tanned face.
Dončić shot once — an improbable trick shot, and the ball ricocheted off the top of the hoop. He shot again and again, but missed. On his third try, however, the Lakers’ star — and Saturday, he firmly became the Lakers’ star — swished home the heave, staying on the court just long enough to watch assistant coach Greg St. Jean and video coordinator Michael Wexler drop to the court to do the pushups they’d wagered against him.
This was Dončić, same as ever, but with everything else feeling different — newly found stability, newly embraced fitness and newly acquired peace.
It was just a sliver of Saturday morning at the Lakers’ facility, a day when Dončić opened up customized folders and signed a three-year contract projected to be worth up to $165 million according to league sources.
I just signed my extension with the Lakers. Excited to keep working to bring championships to LA and make Laker Nation proud. Grateful to the Lakers, my teammates and all the fans who’ve shown so much love since day one. This is just the beginning. 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/PrTfTxxlpU
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) August 2, 2025
Six months prior, Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka noted, the Lakers had stolen Dončić away from Dallas in a trade literally in the middle of the night. Saturday, under a postcard Southern California sky, Dončić firmly grabbed control of his career and the Lakers’ franchise in one swipe of the pen when he returned the favor by picking the Lakers.
“That is a monumental moment in Lakers history. And we could not be more grateful for you choosing this partnership,” Pelinka said to Dončić. “The best young basketball player in the universe joins for the long-term future, the best sports franchise on the globe.”
Saturday, Dončić formalized something he said he quickly decided on after the Lakers dealt for him. He committed to the organization on a long-term contract that, the way it’s structured, should give him the chance to sign a five-year contract worth more than $400 million in 2028.
“The way they received me, the fans, the team, it was unbelievable,” Dončić said of his debut with the Lakers last year. “In that moment, I felt something different.”
Los Angeles acquired Dončić last February in a trade with Dallas for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick. In 28 games with the Lakers, Dončić averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists as he dealt with shellshock from the trade and an attempt to return to form after missing 22 games with a calf injury suffered on Dec. 25 as a member of the Mavericks.
Frustration with the injury and his approach to recovery were among the reasons Dallas traded the 26-year-old star.
Led by Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers finished the season with 50 wins and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Dončić wasn’t 100 percent throughout his first stretch with the Lakers. During a first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he dealt with an illness in Game 3 while scoring just 17 points. After the Lakers were eliminated in Game 5, he pointed to the mental toll the trade had taken on him.
“I’m mentally kind of exhausted from everything that happened,” Dončić said after the season. “A lot of people won’t believe me, but I am. So I just think now is the time to process everything, everything to it.”
But Saturday back in Los Angeles, Dončić said he felt “way better” about being with the organization, this time having had his say in becoming a part of the Lakers and in the team built around him.
The Lakers added center Deandre Ayton, wing Jake LaRavia and guard Marcus Smart in free agency this summer. Ayton, Smart, Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, Jaxson Hayes and rookie Adou Thiero attended the press conference.
“I think we have a great team, we have what we need to compete for the championship,” Doncic said. “I’ll try to win every game no matter what and we got some new great guys on the team so you know we’re going to go for it.”
Physically, he’s done his part, getting into noticeably better shape, his transformation even landing him on the cover of Men’s Health earlier this week.
“We’ll just say, you know, it was like a fresh start for me. Obviously, I was on my way (to) doing it,” he said of his fitness. “But it was just kind of a fresh start. I had a little more time to get my mind off basketball, just doing other things. So I would just say, like a fresh start for me.”
It’s also a fresh start for the Lakers, who have James entering the final year of his contract after he opted into it at the end of June.
Asked about the state of the organization’s relationship with James and whether the hope is James would someday retire as a Laker, Pelinka delivered the first official statement from the organization on the matter.
“Yeah, so all the interactions we’ve had with LeBron and his camp, Rich (Paul) in particular, have been positive and supportive. So very professional and Rich has been great,” Pelinka said. “The dialogue with him has been open and constant. So, to answer that question. And then in terms of LeBron’s career, I think the number one thing we have to do there is respect he and his family’s decision in terms of how long he’s going to play. I think that’s first and foremost.
“And we want to respect his ability to come up with his timetable on that. I think that’s really important. But if he had a chance to retire a Laker, that would be great.”
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)