Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic is obvious answer to 'face of the NBA' question

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Apr 15, 2025 8:43 AM ET

The talk of the next "face of the NBA" ended on Feb. 2 when news broke of the Lakers acquiring Luka Doncic from the Mavericks.

Doncic, 26, checks every box the league needs in its next top star: He's marketable, plays for a legacy franchise, has an electrifying playing style, is controversial and has yet to enter his prime as an athlete.

He also has the "bad boy" persona to which many are drawn. Since entering the league, Doncic has picked up 103 technical fouls, ranking second among all players over the last six seasons.

It doesn't matter that Doncic isn't American. Unlike many European players, who prefer avoiding the public eye, Doncic embraces the limelight. He also has the swagger and disposition of a stereotypical American athlete, with a proclivity to talk trash to players and fans.

The first indicator of Doncic becoming the next "face of the NBA" emerged on Monday. The league confirmed that the Lakers guard led all players in jersey sales for the 2024-25 season.

The NBA's top-selling jerseys list... based on https://t.co/I0ypSvyq5i sales from the second half of the 2024-25 season! pic.twitter.com/yPVq9mfbpB
— NBA (@NBA) April 14, 2025

Doncic has disproved the myth that only Americans can be branded as the face of the NBA, a U.S.-based league despite its global appeal. The Slovenian is the first non-American to lead in jersey sales after LeBron James and Stephen Curry held the crown since 2014.

Luka Doncic was the top-selling NBA jersey in 2024-25, finally unseating the Steph/LeBron reign that has lasted since 2012-13 pic.twitter.com/VjdL8uIXo6
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) April 14, 2025

Doncic has also proved to be a box-office draw. The tickets for his Dallas homecoming recently were the most expensive for any Mavericks home game in 15 years. Furthermore, the game garnered the highest non-Christmas viewership on ESPN in the 2024-25 season.

Luka Dončić's return to Dallas on Wednesday drew the largest non-Christmas #NBA audience on ESPN this season (2.26M avg. viewers) pic.twitter.com/vedYlxKEPg
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 10, 2025

If Doncic can help the Lakers raise Banner No. 18 in June, he will further cement himself as the new face of the NBA.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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