The Los Angeles Lakers are set to massively benefit in the long run with the addition of Luka Doncic. However, the Slovenian national’s short-term impact during the first few months for the Purple & Gold has been undeniable.
Jarred Vanderbilt credited the team’s 2024-2025 regular season success by highlighting the change in energy brought about since acquiring Doncic in the blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks.
Vanderbilt drew similarities to the 2022-2023 regular season when the Lakers made several changes during the midseason trade deadline. The new group of players brought in helped uplift energy, witnessing a run to the Western Conference Finals.
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“I mean, we added Luka Doncic this time. That’s a big difference for sure. But yeah, I’ve been a part of the last couple of years. When I got here, we came in midseason. So I think that kind of sparked our energy and sparked that postseason run that we had.
Same as this year, you know, having a guy like Luka come in, Do [Finney-Smith], all those guys coming in and kind of just changing our energy. And we feeding off of that. And I think that sparked our second half of the season. It’s going to carry over to the playoffs,” Vanderbilt told reporters, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
In contrast to Anthony Davis’ last four seasons with the team — during which the Lakers finished seventh in the Western Conference standings three times and missed the playoffs in 2021-2022 — the Doncic-led squad wrapped up the regular season with 50 wins and a third-place finish in the West.
Luka Doncic prepares for most important part of the season
The LA Lakers finished the regular season with the second-best record in franchise history since the 2010-2011 season. However, Doncic acknowledged that the job is not completed yet.
While the team’s morale was high during the final stretch of games after clinching the No. 3 seed, Doncic admitted that it all comes down to the better part of the season – the playoffs.
“I gotta get some rest, obviously. But the good part of the season is coming. So I gotta stay ready. Gotta stay locked in,” Doncic said.
In the Doncic era, the Lakers have clinched wins against all Western Conference title contenders – the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets, among others. This has led to an increase in self-belief with the camp claiming that title aspirations are not far-fetched.
“I think we have the team to do it. When everybody is locked in, we’re a hard team to beat, so that’s our goal,” he added.
The Lakers will begin their postseason with a first-round battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Game 1 of the series will take place at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
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Edited by Veer Badani
