While Lakers fans were excited to see Luka Dončić in purple and gold after last season’s midseason trade, the Slovenian star was dealing with a bevy of feelings during the 2024-25 NBA season.

When he first played against the Mavericks, emotions overwhelmed Luka, and even after the game was done, he mentioned that closure would take some time.

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After that initial shock and his first game back in Dallas, Luka was able to have a strong season with the Lakers. He’s now the centerpiece for this team and he’s committed not only to his new franchise but to himself.

Dončić signed a contract extension with Los Angeles and has been hard at work doing insane summer workouts to make sure his revenge season reminds everyone why he is on the short list of the best players in the NBA.

Virtually everyone has discussed the Luka trade, the breakup with the Mavericks and his new slim look, even now including one of the unlikeliest of sources in NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

On Tuesday, Jayson Gay of the Wall Street Journal had a feature on Luka that included a quote from Silver, who mentioned how this shocking trade was the push Luka needed and how it provides him an opportunity to start again in this new chapter of his NBA career in Los Angeles.

“Putting aside the merits of the trade, you could argue that it was a bit of a kick in the ass to Luka,” says Adam Silver, the NBA’s commissioner. “He didn’t try to sugarcoat this trade.”
To be clear: Silver says this admiringly. “Another player could have said, ‘Oh, now I’m part of the Los Angeles Lakers organization,’ ” he continues. “He didn’t try to hide his disappointment, and I think he was in a bit of a funk for a while, because it was probably the first true professional setback of his career. And I was hoping personally for him that he would ultimately see this as an opportunity to reset.”

The only person Luka has to prove anything to is himself, but it has to feel good to hear praise from someone who runs the NBA.

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The Luka reset, so far, has looked pretty good. He played in EuroBasket with Slovenia, helping them reach the quarterfinals while also being named as part of the FIBA EuroBasket All-Star Five.

Ultimately, Luka couldn’t control what happened to him, but he can take charge of his future. He’s committed to the Lakers and he now has the keys to the most iconic franchise in basketball.

That’s a great place to be and with the rest of the league, including the commissioner, watching, Luka appears ready to go on a tear this upcoming year.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.