Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Lakers' Luka Doncic Prompts Rival Coach to Abruptly Resign

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Ryan Stano | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers know how great Luka Doncic is. It's why they made the stunning move to trade for him a couple of weeks before the trade deadline last year.

Doncic is one of the best offensive players in the league, and he has shown that off while playing in EuroBasket. He is trying his best to help Slovenia win it all.

Doncic's most recent performance against Italy was so good that it actually led to the Italian head coach resigning as the head coach of the Italian national team.

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Lakers Guard Luka Doncic Made a Coach Resign

After Doncic had 42 points, 10 rebounds, and one assist on 11-19 shooting against Italy, Italian head coach Gianmarco Pozzeco resigned as the head coach of the Italian National Team.

"It's my last game with Italy," Pozzecco said in the press conference. "I want to thank my president, Giovanni Petrucci, for giving me this honor to become coach of the national team. From deep of my heart, it's like... Maybe, for sure, the best moment of my life. It was a real honor to have this role in Italian basketball."

It seems like this was a decision that he had made before Italy played Doncic and Slovenia. It seemed like whenever the team was going to be knocked out, he was going to be finished. Doncic being his last opponent might just be a coincidence.

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Luka Doncic Helped Push Italy's Coach Out

At this point, it's unclear who will be waiting in the wings to take over the coaching duties for the Italian National Team. Los Angeles knows that playing against Doncic can be frustrating.

If Doncic can play like this for the Lakers this season, they are going to be one of the hardest teams to beat during the course of the season. He should be even better now that he's spent a full offseason in Los Angeles, too.

After being traded to the Lakers, Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. He shot 43.8 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.