Now that Luka Doncic has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, they can completely focus their attention on building a championship team around him. They have already done some of that work this offseason by addressing their gaping hole at the center with the signing of Deandre Ayton while also bringing in 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.
Many feel the Lakers don’t have a truly championship-caliber roster yet. But now that they’re catering to Doncic, they may be starting to feel the urgency to build one as soon as possible.
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In May, the superstar met with general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick at a restaurant. Per ESPN, he made it clear that he wants to win an NBA championship as soon as he can.
“I don’t want to wait,” Doncic told the table, a source familiar with the conversation told ESPN. “I had a taste of the Finals. I am getting back there. So let’s do whatever we can now.”
Doncic reached the NBA Finals in 2024 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks about eight months before they traded him to the Lakers. They lost in five games to the Boston Celtics there, and it was around that time that criticism of his lack of fitness and conditioning started to grow louder.
He has gotten much slimmer and fitter this summer, and thus, this could very well be the start of a promising new chapter in his career.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic made a bold statement about wanting to win NBA title now