Luka Doncic makes Lakers debut after blockbuster trade
2025-02-11
Category: sports

The anticipation for Los Angeles Lakers fans ended on Monday night as Luka Doncic made his debut in purple and gold at the Crypto.com Arena against the Utah Jazz. Doncic played 24 minutes as all but one Lakers star played under 30 (Austin Reaves). He made the most of it, scoring 14 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. He was plus-15 while on the floor and 5-of-14 from the field. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM  He had not played since Christmas due to an injury and then was the main part of a blockbuster trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers. As fans received Doncic T-shirts, and he stepped onto the floor with LeBron James, Doncic admitted he was a "little nervous." "I (don’t remember) the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court again, it was fun. Just being out there, it felt amazing," he said after the game.  The Lakers won the game 132-113. MAVERICKS' ANTHONY DAVIS SUFFERS INJURY IN DEBUT FOLLOWING BLOCKBUSTER TRADE  "Just the amount of cheering there was in the arena was absolutely unbelievable," Doncic said. "That was my favorite part — and to play again." As the season wears on, Doncic’s chemistry with James is going to be a key factor. The Lakers moved to 32-19 on the year with the win and are currently in fourth place in the Western Conference. Being out of the play-in tournament will be a key for the team. "Knowing Luka, whether he will admit this or not, there was probably a little bit of nerves playing for the Lakers for the first time, and the anticipation that this building had," Lakers head coach J.J. Redick said. "I thought he handled it really well, and he played really well tonight. ... He didn’t make it about Luka. He made it about playing good basketball and playing Laker basketball." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  Los Angeles will head to Utah to play the Jazz again before the All-Star break begins. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital’s&nbsp;sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.