Luka Doncic has provided the Lakers and their fans with good news for the future by signing a contract extension with the team on Saturday.
Doncic signed a three-year, $165-million deal with a player option in 2028 on Saturday morning, his agent, Bill Duffy, confirmed to The Times. Signing that contract allows Doncic to eventually sign a maximum deal in 2028 that would give him 35% of the salary camp for five seasons, which would pay him about $369 million because of his 10 years of NBA experience.
Doncic, who will earn $45.9 million this season, will hold a news conference with his representatives later Saturday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo.
“I just signed my extension with the Lakers,” Doncic said in a release after he signed. “Excited to keep working to bring championships to LA and make Laker Nation proud. Grateful to the Lakers, my teammates and all the fans who’ve shown so much love since day one. This is just the beginning.”
At the end of the statement, Doncic posted two hearts in purple and gold.
Doncic signing his deal with the Lakers couldn’t have come at a better time. Doncic was in Los Angeles on Saturday for his Jordan Brand event, which he also held earlier this week in New York and Chicago.
“Today is a monumental moment for our franchise. Luka Doncic’s future is with the Los Angeles Lakers,” Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Luke is one of the game’s most transcendent players, and his on-court dominance and passion is without comparison.”
During his short time with the Lakers, Doncic has linked up with LeBron James to make them a worthy team that posted a 50-32 record last season and gave them the third seed in the rugged Western Conference.
In 28 games with the Lakers after the shocking and blockbuster trade that saw Los Angeles get Doncic from Dallas in exchange for Anthony Davis on Feb. 4, he averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 35.1 minutes per game. Doncic shot 43.8% from the field and 37.9% from three-point range.
In five playoff games, a first-round series the Lakers lost 4-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Doncic averaged 30.2 points per game, 7.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists. He shot 45.2% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range.
At 26, Doncic is the superstar that the Lakers always seem to have on their roster as the face of the future.
While playing for the Mavericks, there were reports that said Doncic was heavily criticized because of poor conditioning and diet issues.
This summer, Doncic has worked to change that narrative.
In photos that accompanied in a Men’s Health magazine feature, Doncic appears to be a changed man.
He is toned and slimmed down in the photos from the magazine.
“Just visually, I would say my whole body looks better,” Doncic said in the story that was published Monday.
Doncic was quoted in the article as having been at home in Croatia when his workouts began, and in subsequent interviews said he did not play basketball for a month.
It was a variety of things that got Doncic looking so much more defined than in past years, from weightlifting, sprints and a change of his eating habits in committing to a better diet.
Doncic told the magazine that he wants to maintain his dedication to his body throughout the season.
“This year, with my [training] team, I think we did a huge step,” Doncic said in the article. “But this is just the start, you know. I need to keep going. Can’t stop … if I stop now, it was all for nothing.”
Doncic will once again play for the Slovenian national basketball team this month in the EuroBasketball 2025. His Slovenian team will face Poland on Aug. 28, which will give Doncic a chance to show off his body and conditioning in a basketball game setting.
Doncic also played a role in the Lakers getting two much-needed free agents this summer by helping recruit the players.
Doncic reached out to center Deandre Ayton, who signed with the Lakers for two years and $16.2 million, giving the 6-6 guard and Los Angeles the big man they absolutely had to have for this upcoming season.
Doncic also called guard Marcus Smart, who signed a two-year contract worth $11 million, giving the Lakers a much-needed wing defender after they lost Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency.
Smart said Doncic called him twice to sell him on playing for the Lakers.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
