Before the Los Angeles Lakers tipped off Monday night and Luka Doncic made his debut for the franchise that traded for him then waited — along with a fervent fan base — more than a week for the 25-year-old basketball prodigy to appear in the lineup, LeBron James had a message to deliver.
“Luka, be your f—ing self,” James said during the pregame huddle, picked up by the ESPN telecast. “Don’t fit in, fit the f— out. Be yourself.”
When asked about the moment, having booked a 132-113 win over the Utah Jazz his first time wearing the purple and gold uniform for game action, Doncic was sincere.
“For him to say something like that just feels amazing,” Doncic said after scoring 14 points in 24 minutes, playing for the first time since Christmas Day when he was with the Dallas Mavericks. “It gives me confidence. And after that speech, it was chills. I was just happy to be a part of it.”
There was a euphoric atmosphere at Crypto.com Arena, with the sold-out crowd finding 18,997 gold No. 77 T-shirts lining their seats and Doncic’s preferred Serbian music pumping out of the sound system while he launched deep pregame 3s and fans held up their phones to record his every move.
Doncic’s former Mavs running mate Dirk Nowitzki, whose last season in the league coincided with Doncic’s first, made the trip to support him, sitting in the stands with Doncic’s father, Saša.
“I was a little bit nervous before,” Doncic said. “I don’t remember the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court, it was fun. And just being out there again felt amazing.”
While his shot was rusty — he went 5-for-14, including 1-for-7 from 3 — and he was on a minutes restriction, there was an instant chemistry between Doncic and his new teammates.
