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Luka Doncic Showed Jeanie Buss a First in Lakers History

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Aleksandar Mishkov | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 3:53 PM ET

Jeanie Buss has been around the Los Angeles Lakers since the early 1980s. She has seen almost any legendary Lakers superstar. Her father, Jerry Buss, purchased the Lakers in 1979, and Jeanie, as his favorite, was around for the ride. After his death in 2013, the controlling ownership passed to his six children. Yet, Jeanie fought for it and became the sole owner after a court dispute. What we are trying to say is that she has been around. But Jeanie admits that Luka Doncic showed her something she had never seen during her time with the Lakers.

Luka Doncic Showed Jeanie Buss a First in Lakers History

Luka is currently competing with his national team at FIBA EuroBasket 2025. Slovenian media is always trying to bring people from the Lakers on their shows to talk about Luka. In a recent interview for a Slovenian radio station, Jeanie Buss talked about something she witnessed for the first time with Luka Doncic.

“It was such a surprise. Nobody knew it was a secret. Nobody knew the trade was going to happen. He didn’t know. I have never had a player come to the Lakers and be as sad as he was. The trade was a huge surprise to him; he had to process it. We saw it in real time that Luka is a real person, and he had to process what happened. I think now, he has embraced the Lakers, and he is all about LA. It is good!”

Jeanie Buss on Slovenian radio talked about a Luka trade

IG/radio1slo pic.twitter.com/MSw79URyed

— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) August 28, 2025

Unlike most players who dream of wearing the purple and gold, Luka was happy in Dallas, playing for the Mavericks. He embraced the city of Dallas and its fans, and they loved him. After the trade, Luka was posting similar numbers in a Lakers jersey, but it was evident he was not the dominant player he was. Something was bothering him. Now, the Lakers’ owner admits it was sadness.

Re-Energized Luka is Scary for the League

The Lakers have several things going in their favor this summer. First, Luka got into the best shape of his life. He changed his training routine, eating habits, and everything in between. In an article for Men’s Health, he described the entire process and how he is feeling better than before. The second thing is that Luka is playing for the Slovenian national team. While the team is not favored to win the EuroBasket, and the roster doesn’t have any good players, Luka always returns to the NBA with a different vibe after playing for Slovenia.

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Re-energized Luka is a top-three to top-five player in the league, and a perennial MVP candidate. His best MVP-type season, the 2023-24, came after he competed with Slovenia at the World Cup 2023. He came back, won the scoring title, and finished top three in MVP voting. That season, he also led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

The sale of the Lakers will also bring benefits to the team and its fans. Up until the sale, the Lakers were the only team in the league that was more like a business company than an NBA team. They financed everything from the profit the Lakers bring. They didn’t have an owner with deep pockets who could go and invest in infrastructure. For example, many fans remember how the Lakers low-balled Ty Lue several years ago with a contract that he said was almost an insult. Mark Walter, who bought the Lakers for $10 billion, has a net worth of $6.2 billion. With Luka as the centerpiece and a good infrastructure, the Lakers can win big.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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