Austin Reaves has figured out one of the easier ways to wake Luka Doncic up: put somebody in front of him who’s willing to talk.
Maybe that’s an opposing player. Maybe it’s a coach. Reaves even joked that it could be a fan in the stands, as long as the message gets loud enough.
“I’ve thought about paying people in the stands to just talk crazy to him,” Reaves told Chris Mannix, “because he goes to that different level.”
It was said with a grin, but the point was clear. Reaves has seen what happens when Doncic gets challenged, and he knows the reaction can be exactly what the Lakers want - the star version, the one that takes over.
That understanding didn’t happen overnight. Reaves told Sports Illustrated that Doncic was reserved when he first arrived from Dallas in the February 2025 trade.
He didn’t force the relationship. He let it grow on its own.
Now the bond stretches past the court. Mannix reported that Reaves has been to the bowling alley at Doncic’s Manhattan Beach home, and the two have also connected through golf. That kind of access gives Reaves a look at both sides of Doncic: the quieter personality away from the game and the edge that shows up once the ball is tipped.
The Lakers, of course, want the second version. They want the fire without the fallout. The feature also noted Doncic’s issues with technical fouls and JJ Redick’s efforts to keep that competitive streak from tipping into something costly.
There was another side of Doncic on display this offseason, too.
According to Mannix, he hosted Lakers teammates in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for a four-day minicamp in August and paid for the trip himself. The group mixed pickup basketball with dinners, golf and sightseeing.
With 10 new players on the roster after LeBron James’ departure, it gave the team a chance to start building chemistry before the season. Afterward, players sent Doncic handwritten notes to thank him.
That’s the bigger picture around Doncic now. He can be stirred by a challenge from the crowd, but he’s also trying to pull a revamped locker room together.
Reaves’ joke points to one part of his personality. The Slovenia trip points to another.
Both matter for a Lakers team looking to turn talent into something more connected.
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In the 2026 preseason, Redick opened with Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle ahead of Austin Reaves LaRavia, a notable shift for a player who started many games last season. It does not settle the rotation by any means, but it does signal that the Lakers are still sorting out who best complements Doncic in the lineup, and the competition at those wing spots looks very real. [Read more 🡒]