Overview

• In a Wall Street Journal interview, Dončić said he "didn't know how to react" to the midseason trade and acknowledged it may "always be strange" leaving Dallas.
• He detailed a dramatic conditioning overhaul that included a month with no basketball, intensive strength and agility work, a private chef and intermittent fasting.
• Dončić signed a three-year extension in August and said his leadership will take shape once the full group is together in preseason after offseason talks with GM Rob Pelinka.
• LeBron James praised Dončić as a "big-time savant" and "great f--king guy," while NBA commissioner Adam Silver characterized the trade as a motivating reset for the star.
• Fresh off EuroBasket, Dončić led Slovenia to an upset of Italy before a quarterfinal loss to Germany and earned All-Star Five honors as the Lakers added Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia.