Luka Doncic talks adjusting to Los Angeles Lakers, playing with LeBron James in podcast interview
Luka Doncic spoke about life in Los Angeles in a newly released podcast interview, which also featured his Lakers teammate LeBron James and former Dallas Maverick Steve Nash.
On the clip released Monday for James' and Nash's "Mind the Game" podcast, Doncic said it was "unbelievable" to play with a teammate like James, and get to see what James does both on and off the basketball court to prepare for the game.
"First of all, he shows up like 10 hours before the game so that was really the main, like, I was like 'what?' … When I came to the arena he was already done working out," Doncic said.
He also called playing on the court together a "work in progress" that was improving every day. The interview did not directly address the February trade that sent Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.
Nash also asked Doncic what it was like playing in Los Angeles, comparing it to his home country of Slovenia, which is home to only 2 million people.
Doncic said he does not feel any pressure from playing in front of celebrities at every home game, but he was enjoying playing in a city with an ocean and a beach.
"After the first couple days that was the first thing on my mind … the only thing is the traffic," Doncic said.
The majority of the interview focused on issues in youth sports, and the efforts of James and Doncic to improve the experience for young athletes around the world.
The trio did not discuss the Lakers loss in the first round of the NBA Playoffs or the upcoming NBA Finals. It is not specified when or where the interview was taped, but the discussion referred to a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as having happened earlier that day; The Lakers beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City on April 6, in a game that tipped off at 2:30 p.m. CT.
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