Luu-ka!…Luu-ka!
For three exhilarating hours they screamed his name.
For three franchise-changing hours, these were the Los Angeles Lukas.
It was only his first game in purple and gold since being stolen from the Dallas Mavericks nine days ago, yet Luka Doncic and the Laker fans were already on a first-name basis.
On a wondrous night against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena, a new era began with two syllables and a prayer.
“Luu…ka! Luu…ka!”
They screamed it when he showed up on the court during pregame warmups. They screamed it during introductions in which he, and not LeBron James, was announced last. They screamed it during every pause in the national anthem, finally singing it like it was the anthem itself.
“Luu-ka!…Luu-ka!”
Read more: Luka Doncic embraced by LeBron James and L.A. in his memorable Lakers debut
Then the game started and they really screamed it, celebrating the new kid in the most buzzy Lakers regular-season game since Kobe Bryant’s retirement night in 2016.
They screamed it when Doncic lofted a pretty ally-oop pass to a dunking Jaxson Hayes in the first minute. They screamed it when he nailed a three-pointer over Walker Kessler a few minutes later.
They screamed it when, clearly winded, he walked over to the bench for a cup of water. They screamed it when he nonetheless hustled back to throw in a second-chance layup. They screamed it when he capped his night with a three-quarter-court pass to James for a picturesque layup.
They not only screamed his name, they wore it, on the backs of souvenir T-shirts that were laid across every seat before the game, “77” everywhere, the usually too-cool Laker crowd donning the cotton from the lower bowl to the upper deck and, believe it or not, at least one courtside hipster even squeezed into the freebie.
The Lakers’ 132-113 victory was a Luka Lovefest and, watching this oh-so-very serious team engage in three hours of circus, one got the feeling that things around here will never be the same.
“I’m most excited by just the spirit of the group that we laid the foundation of who we’re going to be,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said afterward.
That foundation rests on the shoulders of one of the two most promising incoming sports superstars in this city’s history. Doncic is the Lakers’ Shohei Ohtani, and in just a week he has taken this city by an inclusive storm.
How is this for a daily double? In his first postgame interview, Doncic answered a question in Spanish and acknowledged a $500,000 donation to fire relief efforts.
“The amount of cheering in the arena, that was unbelievable, that was my favorite part,” said Doncic, completing the triple play.
His game totals were average. He scored 14 points in 23 minutes, missed six of seven three-point tries, and added five rebounds and four assists. It was his first action since injuring his calf on Christmas, so he was on both a minutes and stamina restriction, but there was no limit to his unselfishness, and he immediately made everybody better.
“He didn’t make it about Luka, he made it about playing good basketball and playing Laker basketball,” said Redick.
It wasn’t about how much he played, it was about how much fun it was to watch him play.
He constantly smiled, great plays, bad plays, it was as if nothing could wipe the grin off his face. He consistently gestured, like when he vigorously shook his head after sinking a jumper in the face of Johnny Juzang.
He was animated, attentive and, when it came to finding teammates with wild whipping passes, otherworldly. He also lived up to his reputation for too strenuously yapping at officials — he didn’t even wait two quarters until he was on their case! — but the Lakers will take a little bark for his tremendous bite.
He’s 25, and it coolly shows. His shirt is slightly untucked as if he’s in a rec league. He stutters and struts downcourt as if he’s on a playground. He sticks his head down and shoots in opponents’ faces as if he’s trying to prove something.
One game in, and he’s already proven something.
This is a new Lakers culture. James is no longer their best player. Drudgery is no longer their best friend. Mediocrity is no longer their best hope.
Read more: Luka Doncic makes Lakers debut shortly after giving a $500,000 fire relief donation
“Luka is motivated and Luka is a competitor, and I expect that spirit to continue,” said Redick, whose streaking team is suddenly in fourth place in the West.
Doncic said his motivation Monday came from different places.
First, there was the pregame text from James offering to give up his trademark spot at the end of introductions. Doncic jumped on the offer, then clarified that the honor would now be passed back to James.
“So it shows what kind of person he is, and he let me have my moment, so I really appreciate it,” Doncic said.
Then, he was motivated by a pregame speech from James in which Doncic was urged just to be himself.
“After that speech, it was chills,” Doncic said.
Finally, Doncic admitted he was blown away by walking in the arena and seeing some 19,000 fans either holding or wearing his shirt.
“You could see when I came to the arena, I saw all the Luka jerseys, it was just a surreal feeling,” Doncic said.
Granted, this first game was against the tanking Jazz, the same franchise that played patsy to Bryant’s 60 points nine years ago. Certainly, Doncic and James and Austin Reaves have to show they can play defense with the same intensity as they score.
And, certainly, they need a center.
They need one so badly that several days after acquiring Doncic, they rushed through a trade for Charlotte seven-foot center Mark Williams to placate Doncic’s request for a big man to catch his lobs and protect his back.
Read more: Team Luka: A look at the people who are part of Doncic’s inner circle
One problem. They didn’t do their due diligence. Beyond various back, ankle, knee and foot injuries — this guy was a human ice pack — Williams had other injuries that showed up in his physical exam that caused the Lakers to rescind the trade.
Awkward!
This failure was not exactly a strong sales pitch to Doncic, who can become a free agent in 2026. He and his business associates must surely wonder, does the Rob Pelinka front office have its act together?
This was also not exactly a vote of confidence for rookie Dalton Knecht, the key Laker who was sent to Charlotte in the deal and then had to return to a Laker team where he now knows he’s not entirely embraced.
Here’s guessing he’ll get over it. The Lakers have suddenly created a bandwagon that is worth climbing aboard. A new destination fueled not by flimsy hopes, but a hammered chant.
“Luu-ka! Luu-ka!”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
