With the Los Angeles Lakers opening the 2026–27 NBA season with an entirely new identity, superstar Luka Doncic is poised to bring the Purple and Gold back to championship contention despite losing the services of LeBron James during the offseason. At the same time, he admitted to a steep uphill climb to get there.
During the Lakers’ press conference following team practice on Monday, Doncic lauded the team’s ability to gel throughout the past few weeks, despite the 121-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets to close out the preseason with a 2-3 record.
However, the Slovenian superstar remains clueless as to how much patience the team needs in order for its true potential to materialize, as the Lakers are set to introduce nine new players to the lineup.
“It was good, I think we had some good things. Obviously, some things we wanted to work on… It was preseason, so just keep that in the group,” Doncic said. “Just the start of a new season, a lot of new guys, but I can’t see in the future, so I don’t know how much patience we’re going to need.”
Doncic Remains His Own Leader
After a season-ending hamstring injury denied him any playoff action, Doncic brushed off any pressure entering the year without the guidance of James and remains poised to help LA compete for its 18th title.
“I’m just my own leader. Like I’ve said, I’ve been in these situations a lot, but I think I’m doing a great job with this group.”
The 27-year-old also lauded the performance of newly acquired big man Walker Kessler, but believes his production will gradually increase as he logs more minutes with Doncic.
“It was a little bit different because they blitzed me the whole game. So, I think it’s something new to him, but we’re working on that. He’s improving in that area a lot, but obviously we haven’t played against drop [coverage] yet.”
Doncic and the Lakers will look to open their campaign strong against their division rivals, the Golden State Warriors, on Thursday, October 22.
