Luka’s First Signature Lakers Game
It couldn’t have come at a better time and against a better opponent
This season has been anything but smooth sailing for Luka Dončić. He battled through the most serious injury of his career. His life changed literally overnight when he was traded on February 2nd.
And even though there were flashes, you could see Dončić’s struggles and the pressure piling up. Playing under the brighter national spotlight that comes with the Lakers, in the middle of a tightly contested Western Conference race, Dončić had a couple of disappointing performances—most notably a recent loss to the surging Golden State Warriors that made their quest for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs much more complicated.
This is why winning at least one game against the best team in the league, the juggernaut Oklahoma City Thunder, in the hostile environment of Paycom Center with his old nemesis Lu Dort waiting for redemption from last year’s playoff loss, felt like a make-up test for Dončić.
And like many times in the past, in those high-stakes moments, Dončić delivered. His first signature Lakers game.
What is a Luka signature game?
Last night’s Lakers–Thunder matchup was in a European prime time slot, nationally televised here in Slovenia. Like with other prime matchups in the past, I joined the pre- and post-game studio crew on our sports channel, Arena Sport. As the Lakers closed in on a convincing blowout win, I tweeted that this was Dončić’s first signature game as a Laker.
As it usually happens on social media, plenty of Luka fans corrected me, pointing out that Dončić had already put up great games in purple and gold. Like the 32 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and a block in a statement win against the Nuggets. And yes, there were other games with better stat lines than the 30/7/6 he finished with last night.
But to me, this one just felt different. And when someone replied to my tweet with, "What is a Luka signature game?"—it made me stop and think about my own statement.
Before I could even form a good definition, other fans, mostly Mavs fans who’ve seen plenty of nights like this in the past, chimed in. The replies said it better than I could.
‘Just pure domination’
‘One where you know the game is over by the first half’
‘The one in which Mark Followill tells you to call your friends. Used to.’
‘The games where he destroys other teams souls. Suns and Wolves games.’
Game 7 against the Suns. The Christmas Day dismantling of the Suns in 2023. A 25-point first half that left no hope for the Wolves to close out the series in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. I was lucky to witness one live in Dallas back in 2022, when Dončić dropped 28 points in the first quarter on his way to 51 against the Clippers.
These are the nights when Dončić is hitting step-backs over big men on switches, like he did last night against Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Nights when he forces opposing coaches to make adjustments early in the first half. Nights when he makes opponents first dance, then panic—like Holmgren did, calling for help and a double as soon as the switch happened with just under three minutes to go in the second quarter.
These nights often happen in away arenas, with Dončić taunting the heckling crowd after every made bucket. Nights when he is clearly the best player on the floor, even with an MVP favorite like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sharing it with him.
Nigths when special things happen
After the game, Lakers coach J.J. Redick acknowledged both the spotlight surrounding this game and Dončić’s ability to rise to the occasion.
Sometimes great players get bored with [that] process, so when you get the fully engaged star in a big time game some special things can happen. And Luka did some special things tonight. — J.J. Redick
What makes Dončić such a special player to watch isn’t just how he puts his signature on games with his play or his stat lines. It’s the magic. Luka magic. The kind of plays that bring smiles even to the most demanding basketball savants and sickos like Redick himself.
Redick couldn’t hide a smirk on his face as he recapped one particular play. The Lakers ran a “smash” action—a corner pin-in—for Gabe Vincent. As Dončić began driving, Redick said he found himself yelling, “Hit the smash, hit the smash!” But instead of making the pass right away, Dončić hesitated, dribbled into the paint, and then fired a ridiculous behind-the-head, no-look pass to Vincent. Redick burst out laughing, explaining how his assistant coach Greg St. Jean—one of Dončić’s close allies from Dallas, and one of many dismissed by the Nico Harrison regime—told him calmly, “Oh, he sees it. Oh, he sees it. You don’t need to tell him.”
In his post-game podium interview, even the ever-modest Dončić couldn’t help but smile while admitting that that was, indeed, a pretty good pass.
And plays and moments like that, the ones that make special wins even more special, that, my friends, is what makes a signature Luka game.
I sorely miss those times here in Mavsland!!
Fantastic write-up, captures what makes Luka special perfectly.
I was at the game, first time I’ve seen Luka on the road, and the way he can just drain all enthusiasm from the home crowd within minutes of the first quarter and everyone in the arena realizing that he’s not getting stopped tonight. So good.