Rob Pelinka has often had great sound bites when introducing new players to the public, but the Los Angeles Lakers’ vice-president of basketball operations and general manager was more forthright when he introduced Luka Doncic as a Laker. 

It’s only been a little over a week since the Los Angeles and the Dallas Mavericks broke the internet, but Doncic has been a gift and more even if he has only suited up for the Lakers for one game thus far. 

Doncic received a warm welcome in his Laker debut and immediately showcased the playmaking that the Mavs were willing to forego because of his supposed poor fitness. The rust was evident as the Slovenian missed shots later on in the game, but the game was lopsided and the honeymoon phase with Los Angeles remains in full swing. 

Looking at the bigger picture, though, the Lakers have been playing inspired basketball. Since the Doncic trade was announced, Los Angeles has been undefeated, but if we go back to when the Lakers had to cancel games due to the Palisades fire, the Lakers are 12-3. Even a nixed trade for Mark Williams couldn’t dampen their mood, except for maybe Dalton Knecht (but who can blame him). 

Los Angeles’ offense has exceeded expectations with or without Doncic as they have had the best record in the NBA (tied with the league leaders in Oklahoma City Thunder) and the second-highest field goal percentage (51.3) behind the Denver Nuggets during that span. The Lakers’ defense has also held up during their current unbeaten run, with opponents scoring 107.8 points per game (tied with the Boston Celtics for third in the NBA during that stretch) versus their 126.7 points per game. 

With their recent success, Los Angeles has not only taken the lead in the Pacific Division, but they’ve also put some distance between themselves and the Play-In Tournament. This allows the Lakers to ease Doncic back in as he works his way back from a left calf strain that he suffered on Christmas Day. The upcoming All-Star break should also help Doncic settle into Los Angeles, where everyone from the fans to LeBron James and Pelinka have made every effort to make Doncic feel at home. 

However, the Lakers will have to deal with their shoddy frontcourt depth either through the buyout market or by playing team defense to a tee. People will say that playing the Utah Jazz masks certain things and while there’s merit to those notions, you can’t fault Los Angeles for doing what teams of their caliber should do: beat lesser teams to a pulp. 

At the end of the day, we all just want to feel like we belong. Luka Doncic felt that when the Dallas Mavericks drafted him but he was completely blindsided when they sent him away. Doncic pretty much fell on the laps of the Los Angeles Lakers, but that doesn’t mean they’ll take him for granted. 

They’ll need a playmaker like him when LeBron James finally hangs it up and he’s clearly been making a difference for them this early both on and off the court.