Sep 29, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during media day at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Sep 29, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during media day at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic To Make Preseason Debut Vs. Suns

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Daniel Starkand | Last updated Oct 13, 2025 3:30 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are halfway through their preseason slate having played three of six games and to this point, Luka Doncic has not yet suited up.

Doncic is not injured but after playing for Slovenia in EuroBasket over the summer, the organization wants to be cautious in the preseason knowing the superstar will carry a very heavy workload once the regular season begins.

Building chemistry with his teammates is still important though, so the plan all along has been for Doncic to suit up in two preseason games. It appears the first one will be on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

Luka Doncic plans to play Tuesday in Phoenix against the Suns, a source told ESPN. It will be Doncic’s preseason debut. Lakers coach JJ Redick said Doncic will play in two out of LAL’s final three preseason games.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 13, 2025

The Lakers’ final three preseason games are Tuesday in Phoenix, Wednesday in Las Vegas against the Dallas Mavericks and then Friday back home against the Sacramento Kings.

If Doncic plays on Tuesday then it’s reasonable to expect him to sit out Wednesday’s game against his former team as it wouldn’t make much sense to play a back-to-back in the preseason. That would leave Friday’s game as a final dress rehearsal for Doncic and the Lakers before Opening Night on Oct. 21.

After getting into the best shape of his life this offseason, Doncic looked incredible playing for Slovenia in EuroBasket. It will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off on Tuesday, although the preseason will likely be used to knock off some rust before the games start to count.

Luka Doncic on Lakers’ mindset with LeBron James out

The Lakers will be without LeBron James to begin the season, which means Luka Doncic and others will have to pick up the slack. Doncic discussed the loss of James and the Lakers’ mindset until he comes back.

“It’s a big change,” the All-NBA guard said after practice on Saturday. “He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality needs to be ‘next man up.’ We got a group of guys that have been practicing and hopefully LeBron can join us as soon as possible. We are going to obviously need him. But our mentality has got to be ‘next man up.’ That’s it.”

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Lakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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