On Tuesday night, Luka Doncic made his preseason debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in a contest against a shorthanded Phoenix Suns squad that was without Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and Mark Williams. Doncic is coming off a solid summer in which he led his home country of Slovenia to a top-eight finish in the 2025 EuroBasket, and expectations for the 26-year-old star are sky-high as he enters his first full campaign playing for the Lakers.

Doncic is noticeably slimmer, which is a direct response to the criticisms he received regarding his fitness. And he was moving quicker and looked like he was in midseason form already to start off proceedings for the Lakers on Tuesday. In fact, Doncic gave Suns rookie Khaman Maluach his “welcome to the NBA” moment, with the Lakers star

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