After one of the most shocking trades in sports history, the highly anticipated Lakers debut of 25-year-old phenom Luka Dončić occurred last night in Los Angeles. Crypto.com Arena was filled to the brim with Laker 77 shirts to celebrate this historic moment in franchise history. Even LeBron James couldn’t contain his excitement to play with his new superstar teammate by wearing Dončić’s 77 shirt during pre-game warmups. This marks Luka’s first game since Christmas Day as he sustained a calf injury against the Timberwolves. Never in a million years did Luka, or the rest of the basketball world think that the Christmas game would be his last in Dallas. He was cleared to play for the February 8th game against the Indiana Pacers but Lakers head coach J.J Redick pulled him from the lineup stating he did not want to rush him and that he wants him to begin his Laker career with confidence. Dončić joins this Lakers team at the right time as they entered the Jazz game on a 5 game-winning streak with Austin Reaves and LeBron James dominating over the past few games. This was no different as LeBron finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists while Reaves had 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Luka was limited to 24 minutes but he had a productive 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. One of those assists included a full-court pass to LeBron which Luka was caught smiling from ear to ear once he saw his childhood hero open. The Lakers seem to not miss Anthony Davis at all as centers Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes have filled their roles perfectly since the blockbuster trade. The Lakers were in control for the vast majority of the game as they blowout the Jazz 132 to 113. This 6 game-winning
streak from the Lakers gives the Laker faithful excitement for the rest of the season as they now added not only a top 3 player in the League right now, but for the next 10 to 15 years. The last two weeks could not have gone any better for the Los Angeles Lakers as a new era in the NBA has officially begun.
