“The fact that Kobe knows my name was great for me, I just wish Kobe and Gigi were here to see this moment.” Asked his first question as a Lakers player, Luka Doncic embraced the franchise’s legacy, talking about his interaction with the great Kobe Bryant.
Doncic is officially a Laker and will play with LeBron James, something that until four days ago was just fantasy basketball. The Slovenian phenom has always admired the Akron native: “Like a dream come true. I’ve always admired him. There are so many things I can learn from him. It’s an incredible feeling.”
On the other hand, Doncic admitted that leaving Dallas was a shock for him as well: “Honestly, it was hard. The first day was really hard. The last 48 hours felt like a month. But today was much better and I am very happy with this opportunity. These are the Lakers, one of the best clubs in history.”
Ironically, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, introducing Doncic to the media, thanked Dallas GM Nico Harrison, among others, for making the trade, adding, “Luka Doncic joining the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history.”
Doncic said he gave no confirmation to the Mavs that he would not sign an extension-“absolutely not”-and added that he found out about the trade while he was already in bed: “Everyone was surprised, you can imagine how surprised I was. I was almost asleep when they called me. I had to check that it was not an April Fool’s joke. It was very hard for me to believe it, I was in shock, it was my home.”
Doncic also said he was stimulated by the fact that he would be traded because of his fitness.When asked if he has anything to prove, he smiled and said, “To win a title.You don’t come here for anything but titles, so I have everything to prove. The goal is to win.”
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