It means something when your superstar shows real care.
For the first time in his career, Luka Dončić hosted a minicamp in Slovenia. He paid for his Lakers teammates to come to his home country. He wanted them to better understand him. He wanted to create chemistry.
They spent their days playing basketball and golf. They went on a boat on Lake Bled. They went fishing. They went to Dončić’s favorite restaurants. They went to a nightclub.
Dončić’s generosity deeply resonated with his teammates.
“At the end of the trip, each player took the time to write a handwritten note and then present it to Luka to thank him,” Rob Pelinka, Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations, said Thursday in his first media availability since last season ended.
Pelinka recounted hearing how Collin Sexton was awestruck by the experience.
“I think at one point Collin Sexton stood up and was like, ‘Look at where we are,’” Pelinka said. “There are a lot of people that never get to come overseas and experience [this]. This is amazing, and someone’s treating us to it.’”
It’s no secret that the Lakers’ brass are expecting the trip to have positive reverberations.
Dončić is a top-four player in the league. He carved out part of his summer to spend time with his teammates. He paid big money, including chartering a plane for them.
These types of things can have a huge impact, especially when times get tough during a season. The Lakers already have inside jokes. They shared a unique experience. They learned about their superstar, understanding him on a much deeper level.
“I think that’ll be part of how we come together as a team,” Pelinka said.
Lakers coach JJ Redick echoed that.
Redick was in Europe the week before the minicamp and spent 48 hours with Doncic, playing 72 holes of golf.
“I could tell how excited he was and how much thought he put into that trip,” Redick said. “And the guys all just enjoyed it.”
Redick said the Lakers assistant coaches who attended the minicamp relayed to him that the players “were very interested in Ljubljana and Slovenia and the Alps and Lake Bled and were asking questions.”
“That was a great team-building exercise,” Redick added.
The minicamp couldn’t have been better-timed considering the Lakers completely overhauled their roster after LeBron James left in free agency. This is Dončić’s team. And he wants to win a championship now.
Dončić led the league in scoring last season (33.5 points) and was third in assists (8.3) before suffering a strained hamstring that sidelined him for the postseason. Next season, he hopes to help them compete for their first title since 2020.
Doncic had his fingerprints over a lot of the Lakers’ offseason moves, including re-signing Austin Reaves and acquiring Walker Kessler.
Pelinka believes his partnership with Doncic could have a major impact on the team’s success.
“When you can co-create something that’s powerful with a star like Luka and retrofit a team around him, then there’s buy-in,” Pelinka said. “We love those roundtable discussions where ideas are shared. Ultimately, I’ll do my job to make the final decision. But to get the input of a basketball savant like him, who sees the game at such a high level, Luka is the world’s greatest offensive player.”
