Life's a beach: Doncic embraces LA

LeBron James, one of his boyhood idols and his most talented teammate, is recovering from sciatica, leaving Doncic to lead the Lakers by himself for at least the first few weeks of the season.

Doncic knows how hard it will be to win without James by his side, but he is committed to the Lakers' project under Redick, his former teammate at the Dallas Mavericks.

Doncic showed it by agreeing to a three-year, $165 million contract extension in August, bypassing the chance at free agency next summer and quelling any lingering doubts about whether or not he'd embraced his stunning midseason move.

The season opener against Curry is his first test, and he looks forward to putting his own stamp on the Lakers' lengthy rivalry with the Warriors.

"Obviously, if it was Steph against LeBron, everybody would watch it," Doncic said. "Going against Steph is very exciting. It's going to be tough. I don't know if it's a rivalry (for me yet), but it's exciting, for sure."

Doncic is still just 26 years old, but he understands the responsibilities inherent in his role as the centerpiece of the Lakers' next era, and he's trying to meet them. He played a role in improving the Lakers' roster during the summer by lobbying Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart to join him.

After the first Tuesday practice of training camp, Doncic took his teammates a few miles down the road to the Porsche Experience Center. The Lakers got to watch each other as they tested the sports cars — including rides big enough to accommodate huge men like Ayton.

"I've never done that before — never had one of the star players on the team really look out for the team like that," Ayton said. "Something like that is actually crazy. I'd never been in a Porsche before, so it was my first time. I didn't know Luka was into cars like that."

Doncic's teammates have noticed his increasing confidence in taking a leadership role, just half a season after he was thrust into a new locker room. His carefree, occasionally goofy demeanor in the locker room endears him to teammates like Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, who share his light-hearted attitude.

"The way he came here was a big shock to the world, I'm sure to him as well," guard Gabe Vincent said. "He's done a lot of work to be around the guys more and just get himself comfortable and more involved."

Agencies Via Xinhua