Luka Doncic‘s blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers is still sending shockwaves through the NBA, and it looks like the Slovenian superstar might be sticking around for the long haul. Fresh off a trade from the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic dropped a hint about his future with the Lakers’ $165 million extension, while team owner Jeanie Buss opened up with a tear-jerking confession tied to Kobe Bryant.
In a clip making rounds on X, Doncic chatted with an excited Lakers fan who welcomed him to LA. “I really appreciate it,” Luka said, flashing that easygoing grin. The fan gushed about how his arrival’s a game-changer after years of waiting for something big.
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Luka’s nod and smile seemed to signal he’s warming up to the idea of a $165 million, three-year extension-potentially locking him in through 2028-29 with a player option, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks. If he opts out then, a decade in the league could land him a supermax starting at $72 million. Not bad for a 25-year-old already rewriting record books.
Doncic teases Lakers commitment as Jeanie Buss gets personal
Meanwhile, Jeanie Buss got real emotional on The Rich Eisen Show, tying Luka’s arrival to a bittersweet memory. “I remember the last time I saw Kobe alive-about a month before he passed,” she shared. “He had brought Gigi to a Lakers game to see Luka play because Luka was Gigi’s favorite player. The idea that Luka is now a Laker-I know how happy that would have made Kobe and Gigi.”
Her voice cracked as she recalled that 2019 moment when Kobe trash-talked Luka in Slovenian, a memory now immortalized in an LA mural. Buss admitted she never thought a star like Luka would be attainable: “There’s no way I’ll ever have that player on my team-unless you draft them, they don’t move.”
The trade-swapping Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-rounder for Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris-was a gut punch to let go of AD, but Buss sees Luka as the future. “He’s going to write his own chapter in Lakers history,” she told him at his intro presser. With LeBron James still balling at 40, Luka’s 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game (career averages) could fuel a title run. Fans on X are hyped, with one saying, “Luka and LeBron? That’s a cheat code!”
