Luka Doncic didn’t wait for the new season to make his intentions clear. The Lakers’ new centerpiece has already put the promise on the table: he wants championships, and he wants them now.
After arriving in Los Angeles in the stunning February trade that sent him out of Dallas following seven seasons and a Finals run with the Mavericks, Doncic wasted no time proving he could take over in purple and gold. He followed that move with a huge stretch last season, putting up 33.5 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game, earning All-NBA First Team honors and finishing fourth in MVP voting.
The year still ended before the Lakers could mount a true title charge. A hamstring injury limited Doncic late, and once he was sidelined, Los Angeles was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
But the message heading into the new season is unmistakable. With training camp set to begin on Sep. 29, Doncic laid out exactly what he expects from this next chapter.
“I’m a Laker now. I’m not sure that I ever could have imagined being here and wearing the purple and gold.
It’s a wonderful surprise and it feels amazing, and now I desperately want what all Lakers want: To win it all. I won’t rest until we win more championships.”
He doubled down on that promise with a second statement aimed directly at the fan base.
“I used to let my game do most of the talking, but I want Lakers fans to know that I am ready, excited, and eager to deliver. So ready.
This is a city that is used to winning and winning big. I am so honored and grateful that I get the chance now to write my own championship chapters.”
The setup around him looks very different now, too. Doncic returns healthy for 2026-27 to a Lakers roster that no longer revolves around LeBron James, who left after eight seasons and signed a two-year veteran's minimum deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. At 41, James is gone, and the franchise has fully shifted into Doncic’s hands.
Los Angeles also built the roster to suit him. The biggest move was the trade for Utah center Walker Kessler, a 7'2" rim protector and lob threat the Lakers believe fits Doncic’s game perfectly. The front office then added more help around him, keeping Austin Reaves on a four-year extension and bringing in Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes for scoring and defense on the perimeter.
The supporting cast goes deeper from there. Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle, and Sandro Mamukelashvili were all added to round out the bench rotation.
Doncic is still chasing the first NBA title of his career. Now, with the Lakers built around his style and the pressure fully on his shoulders, he has made the goal plain: he is here to win it all.
In Other News...
Lakers Just Got Credit For The Edge Every Contender Still Needs
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For the Lakers, that kind of postmortem is its own kind of validation. A playoff opponent can feel it had the better process and still end up on the wrong side of the result, and Houstons young core now sounds determined to treat that series as a lesson heading into the 2026-27 season. Both players acknowledged the leadership burden they carried in the matchup, which only adds to the sense that the Lakers earned the one edge every contender keeps chasing when the games get tight. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Training Camp Just Created A Brutal Bubble Battle
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Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy and Bronny James have emerged as the most likely candidates to end up on the outside looking in, though nothing is settled yet. The club is also exploring trades and other roster tweaks as it tries to shore up frontcourt depth, so this could become more than a simple waiver decision if the right deal comes along. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Linked To A Reunion Move That Would Come At A Price
A reunion idea is floating around that would send Julius Randle back into the Lakers conversation, and it is one of those speculative trade constructions that says as much about the teams current roster questions as it does about the player involved. The proposed framework, reported by Bleacher Reports Eric Pincus, would route Randle from the Brooklyn Nets to Los Angeles with the Charlotte Hornets serving as the middleman, creating a three-team deal built around multiple players and draft picks.
For the Lakers, the appeal is obvious enough: Randle brings familiarity and a proven scoring presence to a team always weighing how to balance talent, fit and future flexibility. But this kind of move would not come cheaply, and the broader logic of the proposal asks how much Los Angeles would be willing to sacrifice to reshape the roster now, especially with Brooklyn and Charlotte each needing their own reasons to participate in a trade of this size. [Read more 🡒]