When Luka Doncic was traded by the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February, he was as shocked as everyone else was. It took him quite a while to get over that shock, but he will now be a member of the Lakers for quite some time after signing a three-year contract extension last month.
From the beginning, Lakers fans showered Doncic with nothing but love, especially since he quickly became the new cornerstone of the storied franchise. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said that he started to feel like a Laker during his debut with the team.
“It was probably my first game, when I started. The way they welcomed me, all the shirts in the chairs and that was the moment I felt like a Laker.”
Doncic’s first game with L.A. came on Feb. 10 against the Utah Jazz. He had just missed about seven weeks due to a calf strain, and in that first contest, he scored 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field.
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He shot poorly in his initial games with the Purple and Gold. But after a few weeks, he hit his stride, and he ended up averaging 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists a game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range during the regular season with Los Angeles.
Now that he’s in fantastic shape, he seems to be poised for a career-best effort this coming season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic on when he first felt like a member of the Lakers