How Luka Doncic becoming more ‘vulnerable’ has paid off for Lakers

LOS ANGELES – As a new player coming to an established locker room, fitting in and finding a role can often be a challenge, especially when you’re already used to a certain familiarity. Luka Doncic found himself in a situation like that amid the blockbuster shakeup of being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after six and a half seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. But after the initial shock of the trade dissipated, Lakers head coach JJ Redick has seen a shift in Doncic as a leader.

Prior to the Lakers’ game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday evening, JJ Redick spoke about how Luka Doncic opening up to the rest of the team has enabled him to grow as a leader.

“I think there is a comfort level that wasn’t there because of everything with the trade and the emotional toll and shock of that,” Redick said. “He’s been more engaging, obviously he’s done some great stuff off the court, like the Porsche experience.”

The Porsche experience that Redick was talking about was a team-bonding event that Doncic organized for his teammates before the season started. Each of them were able to test drive Porsche cars on an official track, as per Brad Turner of The LA Times.

It was just one of the ways in which Doncic has gone out of his way for his teammates and allowed them to see his true self. For Redick, all of that constitutes leadership. It’s not just being vocal on the court during games and practice sessions.

“The stuff we coach him on, whether that’s his interaction with referees, defensive engagement, all of that stuff, that’s all forms of leadership. . .he’s so much improved from where he was last year, and I think the guys have gotten to see his personality,” Redick said. “Opening up and just being yourself and being vulnerable is also a form of leadership, and he’s done that.”

As far as Doncic’s on-court feats this season, he’s made a case to mentioned in the MVP race. At the official halfway point of the season, he is leading the league in scoring at 33.6 points per game. That is the second-highest mark of his career, just short of the 33.9 he averaged his last full season in Dallas in 2023-24. He led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals that season while finishing third in the MVP voting.

In addition to his scoring, he is averaging 7.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 46.8 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from the 3-point line and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.

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