Doncic played 24 minutes in a blowout win in his debut and 23 minutes Wednesday in a sluggish loss — both against the lowly Jazz. “Yes, he was completely out of shape, and you could see he was gassed early,” Ryen Russillo said on his podcast while speaking with ESPN’s Tim Legler, the analyst for Doncic’s Lakers debut Monday.

Doncic suffered a left calf strain on Christmas day that kept him out more than six weeks and cost him a spot on the 2025 NBA All-Star Game roster. Doncic has a history of calf injuries, which Dallas feared could one day lead to a more devastating ACL injury.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is known for many things on the basketball court, both positive and negative. While Doncic is an undeniably great offensive player, his defense has always been suspect in part because of his tendency to argue calls with refs instead of getting back on defense right away.