Luka Doncic’s first day of Lakers training camp offered a clear picture of where this new group stands: still learning, still sorting out roles, but already feeling the pull of a roster with real upside.
The Lakers spent their offseason reshaping the team around Doncic and Austin Reaves, and the early stages of camp are now where all of that starts to get real. The group has already had a head start on building chemistry, thanks to a team trip to Slovenia organized by Doncic, but the first day of practice was the first true step in turning that familiarity into something on the floor.
After practice, Doncic kept his answers measured when asked about how quickly the group is coming together.
“That’s a hard question,” he began. “I honestly don’t know, you know.
Some things we’re going to figure out quicker, and some things we’re going to figure out later. But I don’t know.
I feel like we had a great first practice. A lot of teaching points.
So, I think it was a great first practice.”
He was also asked about the two possible starting spots, a topic tied to comments from head coach JJ Redick last week. Doncic didn’t take the bait there, instead leaving that call in Redick’s hands.
When the conversation turned to the competition level in practice, Doncic sounded encouraged by what he saw.
“Yeah, it was great. We mixed up teams.
Like I said, the starting five, we don’t know who it’s going to be. So, we mixed up teams… We had a lot of fun.
A lot of teaching points, and I think everybody felt like it was a great first day.”
Doncic also addressed the bigger picture of his role with the Lakers and what it means to be the face of the franchise. He said leadership isn’t new territory for him, and he sees it as something he’s always approached in his own way.
“I mean, for sure. I had to be a leader before that also, so I keep repeating that I was already in this position.
It’s nothing new to me. But I think I’m just my own leader.
Like I said yesterday, sometimes you show by example, sometimes you show by words or how to play. So, I would just say I’m my own leader.”
On the offensive side, Doncic made it clear he likes the mix of talent around him, with he and Reaves at the front of the group and several other players capable of making an impact.
“I think we’ve got some great players, as I said. Obviously, Austin and I are at the head of the snake. But I think we’ve got a lot of underrated players that can prove a lot offensively and defensively, so I’m very excited for both.”
One of the more interesting parts of the day came when Doncic discussed Walker Kessler, his new pick-and-roll partner. He had plenty of praise for the big man, especially when it came to what Kessler can do on both ends.
“I think he’s an amazing player. He’s improved his offensive game a lot.
Obviously, we know what he is on defense. So, just going to play with him excites me a lot.”
“He definitely opens up a lot, I would say [on] both ends of the floor,” he added. “But especially on offense, it opens a lot.
Somebody steps up a little, and you just throw it up there; he’s there. It helps us a lot.”
Doncic’s history against Kessler and his rim protection clearly left an impression, but it was Kessler’s offensive growth that stood out most in Doncic’s comments.
He was also asked about preseason plans, though he deferred those questions, saying he would need to talk to Redick about them. When the topic shifted back to his relationship with his coach, Doncic kept it simple and positive.
“It’s the same as before. I mean, we’re very honest with each other; we’ll tell each other things, and it’s just a great relationship.
Obviously, I know him from before; he was my teammate. But that relationship has been great.”
There wasn’t any big declaration or dramatic breakthrough in Doncic’s first day of camp. What came through instead was something more useful for the Lakers: a grounded read on where things are, paired with real belief in what this roster could become.
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