Luka Doncic isnt playing follow the leader. He is undisputed Lakers leader

Lakers coach JJ Redick had a meeting with Luka Doncic on Wednesday, something he plans to do with each player.What did they talk about?Leadership.“It’s something he’s really excited about,” Redick said at Lakers practice Thursday.The Lakers belong to Doncic after LeBron James left for the 76ers in free agency after eight seasons in Los Angeles, including leading the Purple-and-Gold to their first championship in 10 years in 2020.It has now been six long years since the Lakers sat atop the league. For a 17-time championship franchise, that’s an agonizingly long stretch. Doncic is next in line to carry them back to that lofty position.And to do so, he’s going to have to get a bit uncomfortable. See, Doncic leads by example.

He’s never going to be the loudest guy in the locker room.That’s just not him. But the Lakers need more out of him. He needs to be aware of how he carries himself.

How he reacts to things.How he responds in tough moments. “I think as a leader you can always grow,” Redick said.

“That’s part of most good leaders that I know at least — they have that growth mentality.I think Luka has a growth mentality as a player.

And I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that it won’t extend that to leadership.“He recognizes that the vocal side of things is one thing, the body language — both positive and negative— is another thing.That’s a focus is just having great body language.

This group of guys is going to follow him and AR [Austin Reaves].That’s just the reality.

They’re going to follow those two guys, and that’s a huge responsibility for both of those guys.”Obviously, being the head of a team is nothing new for Doncic.He became the youngest player in EuroLeague history to win the MVP award at age 19 while playing for Real Madrid en route to carrying it to the championship.

He led the Mavericks to the Finals in 2024. But everything is different with the Lakers. They’re one of the biggest t...