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[Los Angeles Lakers]

How To Watch Lakers Star Luka Doncic & Slovenia In EuroBasket

After signing his contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic headed back home to begin preparation with the Slovenian National Team for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket tournament.

Despite just signing his new deal, the Lakers supported Doncic’s decision to represent his country, which will give fans their first look of how the 26-year-old will look on the court after completely transforming his body this offseason.

Doncic and Slovenia kick off exhibition play for EuroBasket on Friday against Germany, which should be a fun matchup. As he continues to work his way back into the swing of things though, Luka is not expecting to play heavy minutes in the first exhibition game, via Ekipa:

“I don’t know. I don’t think I will play the entire match. It all depends on the game and other things. Now, for the first time in the preparation period, I played 5 on 5 at the national team training. I feel good.”

Germany will be missing some key players, although Franz Wagner, Dennis Schroder, Tristan Da Silva and others are all expected to be in action. Doncic discussed what type of test he expects from Germany in Friday’s game:

“It won’t be a big test, as it’s only the first match, but we know what kind of team Germany is. The match will be tough, they’re world champions. We’ll learn a lot from the match, we’ll see where we are. But the chemistry is great.”

Doncic just reported to Slovenia a couple of days ago and recently revealed that he did not play basketball for a month when the Lakers’ season ended. With that being the case, some rust can be expected in the first couple of exhibition matchups. Slovenia doesn’t start group play for EuroBasket until Aug. 28 though, so there is plenty of time to knock that rust off to be ready to go for the games that count. Luka has already set a goal for Slovenia to medal in the tournament.

They will play six exhibition games in order to prepare, although it remains to be seen how many of those Doncic will suit up in.

Doncic and Slovenia will tip off against Germany on Friday at 11:15 a.m. PT in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which is the Lakers star’s hometown. They will then head to Mannheim, Germany, for another exhibition matchup.

How to watch Luka Doncic & Slovenia in EuroBasket​

Luka Doncic and Slovenia’s first exhibition game against Germany will be stream on DAZN or the Courtside 1891, FIBA’s official streaming service, which will be streaming all tournament and exhibition games. A paid subscription is necessary, however, in order to watch full games. A free subscription unlocks access to highlights and some replays.

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/how-to-watch-lakers-star-luka-doncic-slovenia-in-eurobasket/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

NBA Schedule Leaks: LeBron James & Lakers To Host Stephen Curry & Warriors On Opening Night

Some of the marquee regular season games for the 2025-26 NBA season are starting to leak as the Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly be hosting the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.

That matchup came as a bit of a surprise as many expected the Lakers to either play the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day due to the budding rivalry since the Luka Doncic trade, or the Golden State Warriors given the long-time rivalry between LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

The Lakers traveled to take on the Warriors on Christmas Day last year though, so the NBA clearly wanted to switch things up. James and Curry’s first matchup will still be a marquee one, however, with Shams Charania of ESPN reporting L.A. will host Golden State on Opening Night:

Opening Night of the 2025-26 NBA season on NBC on Oct. 21, per sources:

– Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder

– Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025

The Lakers snapped a six-game losing streak on Opening Night when they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena, so they will be looking to do the same this year against the Warriors to create a win streak and some momentum.

It remains to be seen who will be on the court for Golden State that night as they are the only team in the league that has yet to make a move this offseason. They are waiting for Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency to get sorted out but have been linked to some veterans the Lakers also had reported interest in like Al Horford and DeAnthony Melton.

Regardless though, James and Curry will be the headliners of this matchup. They have faced off against each other 27 times in the regular season in their careers with LeBron winning 14 of them.

Considering how strong the Western Conference is this year, the NBA did not put any Eastern Conference teams on Opening Night as the first matchup will feature the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the new-look Rockets. That will see Kevin Durant returning to Oklahoma City on the night they raise their first championship banner.

Lakers star Luka Doncic looking to prove doubters wrong​

The Lakers hosting the Warriors on Opening Night will also be the start of Luka Doncic’s first full season in purple and gold. After an offseason in which he completely transformed his body to get in better shape, Doncic is looking to prove all of the doubters wrong this upcoming season.

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/nba-schedu...host-stephen-curry-warriors-on-opening-night/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

Lakers Video: Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia & Adou Thiero Throw Out First Pitch At Dodgers Game

The Los Angeles Lakers were celebrated at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night with new additions Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Adout Thiero on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

This came just 24 hours after the legendary Kobe Bryant was also celebrated at the L.A. Dodgers game with a bobblehead. His family was in attendance with his daughter Bianka throwing out the first pitch to kick off those festivities.

Ayton, LaRavia and Thiero are new to Los Angeles so are still getting familiar with how intertwined the Lakers and Dodgers organizations are in the city. They got a taste of it on Saturday though when they visited Dodger Stadium for the first time and eventually took the mound for the first pitch:

Rate the first pitches of Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Adou Thiero during their visit to Dodger Stadium:

: @DodgerBlue1958 pic.twitter.com/JgE3Ib7LM7

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) August 10, 2025

The Dodgers have a Lakers Night every year to celebrate the purple and gold. In addition to throwing the first pitch, Ayton, LaRavia and Thiero yelled out the traditional, “It’s Time for Dodger Baseball!” phrase.

They also got some pointers from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts before taking the mound, which appeared to have helped Thiero and LaRavia but not Ayton.

The Dodgers are the defending World Series champions and are currently the favorites to win it again this year, so the Lakers are certainly hoping some of that success will rub off onto them during their visit.

While the Lakers made some solid additions this offseason with Ayton being at the top of that list, it remains to be seen how all the pieces will fit together and how they will fare in a loaded Western Conference. They will worry about that during training camp though, which is less than two months away.

Deandre Ayton excited to join Lakers​

After his signing became official, Deandre Ayton spoke about how excited he was to join the Lakers and get back to a winning situation.

“I wanted to be in a winning situation and my agents and I finally got a chance in free agency just to finally evaluate. I feel like the Lakers were the best position,” Ayton said. “They want to win a championship right now and I want to win right now as well and just be part of a winning legacy and be around winners. And everyone said it was something difficult to think about, but it just brings me back to playing with the Suns and being part of a winning organization. Once you win, everything is easy, really.”

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/lakers-vid...thiero-throw-out-first-pitch-at-dodgers-game/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

2024-2025 Los Angeles Lakers Player Review: Shake Milton

Last December, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to make a mid-season trade to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second round picks.

After not making a single new acquisition in the summer of 2024, L.A. decided to wait until the time was right to make a move. That trade would be the first domino to fall as Finney-Smith brought a much needed defensive intensity. Meanwhile, Milton was seen as a throw-in and his immediate impact was a bit up in the air when arriving to the Lakers.

Gabe Vincent was streaky at points through the regular season, but head coach JJ Redick showed a reliance on Vincent and did not tend to dive deep into his guard rotation. As a seven-year veteran, Milton has struggled to find a home after spending five seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers early in his career.

There were flashes of the 6’5″ guard showing an ability to be a bit of a scoring punch with a bit of playmaking, but his defensive concerns and slow footed natured hampered his chances at rotation minutes. Milton appeared in 30 games, starting one of them for L.A. and averaged 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 43.3% from the field and 29.4% from 3-point range.

2024-25 Highlight​

In totality, Milton’s best game as a Laker came on Jan. 30 against the Washington Wizards as he dropped 21 points on 7-for-8 from the floor. That’s in addition to four rebounds, four assists and two steals. A performance like that showcases that the SMU product can play in the NBA.

Milton’s strength is scoring and is best utilized as a bench scorer, which was the case in two more games when he dropped 16 points apiece. However, L.A. had enough scoring in Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura so in a way, Redick needed role players to play defense and do the little things.

2025-26 Outlook​

The writing was on the wall after last season concluded that Milton was most likely going to be waived from his non-guaranteed contract. The Lakers needed to open up roster spots and salary cap space, so they did indeed waive Milton before his contract became guaranteed after being unable to trade him.

Although he was cut from the Lakers, it did not take long for Milton to find a new basketball home as the 28-year-old guard signed with international club KK Partizan, which is located in Serbia.

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/2024-2025-los-angeles-lakers-player-review-shake-milton/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

2024-25 Los Angeles Lakers Player Review: Bronny James

The Los Angeles Lakers have a knack for storylines and making history and they managed to strike again when they took Bronny James with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Bronny was considered a borderline NBA prospect following a challenging freshman year at USC. He spent most of his time trying to recover from the cardiac arrest situation he experienced during a summer practice session, needing to regain his stamina and endurance.

While Bronny never quite looked like himself with the Trojans, the Lakers still took a swing on him late in the draft. The move seemed to be an obvious way to appease LeBron James, who had been open about his dream of playing with his son and Los Angeles happily obliged considering the Bronny’s draft class was shallower compared to other years.

Bronny got his first taste of NBA action when he played for the Lakers’ Summer League squad, displaying defensive flashes and some athleticism, though he mostly looked overmatched. It was clear that James would need more time to develop throughout the 2024-25 season, but it didn’t stop fans for criticizing the Lakers for reaching on a player who couldn’t help right away.

Head coach JJ Redick helped L.A. and LeBron make history when he inserted Bronny and LeBron into the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Opening Night, drawing a raucous reaction from the crowd. While Bronny failed to make an impact in his first official NBA game, it was a sight to see him check in alongside LeBron.

Bronny eventually made his way to the G League as a member of the South Bay Lakers and he began to steadily develop behind the scenes. Bronny got some playing time with the parent team later in the year and looked steadier overall, a positive sign for the young guard. While he didn’t make much of an impact at the NBA level during his rookie season, the strides and improvements he made at the G League level were significant and on par with what can be expected from a late second-round pick, leaving optimism heading into the future.

2024-25 Highlight​

The Lakers were incredibly shorthanded for their game against the Milwaukee Bucks as Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron were unavailable, opening up more minutes for Bronny.

Bronny came off the bench, but turned in by far his best performance as he recorded 17 points, five assists, three rebounds and and one block in just under 30 minutes. He later called it the highlight of his rookie season.

2025-26 Outlook​

For stretches of 2025 Las Vegas Summer League, Bronny James looked like the best player on the court. While he is proving he belongs in the NBA, he’ll likely spend more time developing in South Bay given the parent team’s upgraded roster. However, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him called up midseason to soak up some minutes.

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/2024-25-los-angeles-lakers-player-review-bronny-james/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

Lakers Rumors: Jeremy Holsopple Hired As Head Strength And Conditioning Coach

Over the last year, the Los Angeles Lakers have put an added emphasis on player development, knowing they will need to win on the margins to be successful in today’s NBA given the constraints of the collective bargaining agreement.

That includes strength and conditioning in order to keep players healthy, which has been a struggle in recent years. The Lakers have been in search of a new head strength and conditioning coach, and it appears they have found their man.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers are bringing in former Dallas Mavericks athletic performance director Jeremy Holsopple to fill that role:

The Lakers are hiring Jeremy Holsopple as their new head strength and conditioning coach, @TheSteinLine has learned.

As Dallas’ athletic performance director, Holsopple was named as the NBA's top strength and conditioning coach in March 2021.

More NBA: https://t.co/6DCqjEwAvw

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 11, 2025

Holsopple was with the Mavericks for a decade from 2013-24 before being let go. As Stein mentioned, he was named the NBA’s Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2021 and notably worked with current Lakers star Luka Doncic.

When the Lakers recently signed Doncic to a contract extension, president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka went out of his way to thank the team of people that work with Doncic for their hard work and dedication, whether that be on the basketball or business side.

The main reason the Mavericks and specifically general manager Nico Harrison decided to trade Doncic to the Lakers was because they didn’t believe the superstar was in great shape and had a good enough work ethic to maintain his greatness over the course of a long-term extension.

Harrison’s dismay with his staff members went back to the season before when Holsopple was notably let go just days after the team was eliminated in the NBA Finals. Now, Doncic will be reunited with Holsopple in L.A., who will help him maintain his current level of fitness which is already much-improved.

Luka Doncic appreciated Lakers organization welcoming him with open arms​

The Lakers hiring Jeremy Holsopple is the latest example of the organization trying to make Luka Doncic feel comfortable since acquiring him. In fact, he recently expressed his appreciation to the Lakers for welcoming him with open arms.

“I just want to say thank you. Like I said in Spanish, you guys welcomed me with open arms,” Doncic said of the Lakers. “Thank you Mark (Walter), thank you Jeanie (Buss), JJ (Redick), Rob (Pelinka). The whole organization welcomed me with open arms and I can’t wait to get started.”

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/lakers-rum...ired-as-head-strength-and-conditioning-coach/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

Lakers News: Slovenian Teammate Credits Luka Doncic For Growing As Leader

With Luka Doncic officially signing his contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, it has been firmly established that he will be the face of the franchise going forward. And he already seems to embracing that role, setting the example with the complete body transformation that he underwent this offseason, putting in the necessary work to be in the best shape of his career.

Simply being the best player on the Lakers won’t be enough, however, as Doncic also must be a leader on this team. There are many different styles of leadership and Luka must find his voice and the style that fits him best, but he apparently is already doing so with the Slovenian National Team.

Doncic is leading Slovenia at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tournament and veteran teammate Klemen Prepelič recently spoke about the Lakers’ superstar’s growth as a leader, via SportKlub:

“Luka with his constant availability and commitment, shows an ideal attitude towards the national team, is open and positive. He knows how to cheer on young people.

“In addition, he has changed a bit. He talks significantly more than in the past. This is probably related to the challenge that awaits him at the LA Lakers, where he is becoming the first face of the franchise and a true leader.

“His basketball IQ is unimaginable. Whatever he says, he says in good faith, with enthusiasm and in the hope that his teammate will be better because of it.”

Luka’s talent and skill is evident, but that doesn’t automatically make someone a good leader. But the things that Prepelič spoke about such as his improved communication and positive overall attitude will go along way in his Lakers teammates following him.

For now, Doncic’s focus is solely on EuroBasket and trying lead Slovenia to a medal in the prestigious tournament. But his experience there will no doubt give him some great experiences to come back to the Lakers and hit the ground running.

Luka Doncic appreciates Lakers organization welcoming him with open arms​

It has been a pretty tumultuous 2025 for Luka Doncic as he did not expect to be traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers. But ever since that deal came through, the Lakers franchise has done everything possible to make Doncic feel welcome and, after signing his three-year contract extension, he thanked the entire organization.

“I just want to say thank you. Like I said in Spanish, you guys welcomed me with open arms,” Doncic said of the Lakers. “Thank you Mark (Walter), thank you Jeanie (Buss), JJ (Redick), Rob (Pelinka). The whole organization welcomed me with open arms and I can’t wait to get started.”

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/lakers-news-slovenian-teammate-credits-luka-doncic-for-growing-as-leader/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

Lakers’ Christmas Day Matchup With Rockets Will Be In Fourth Time Slot

This week is 2025-26 NBA schedule release week, meaning the entirety of the regular season schedule is expected to be released on Thursday. But first, the league is announcing major games on important days of the calendar to get fans excited for this year’s primetime slate. And one of the most important days of the year is Christmas Day, especially for Los Angeles Lakers fans.

The Lakers are a mainstay of Christmas Day, even before they had two of the league’s most marketable superstars in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. But adding Doncic at last season’s trade deadline ensured L.A.’s place on Christmas Day for the foreseeable future. This Dec. 25, the Lakers will face Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson and the Houston Rockets.

The Lakers and Rockets facing off on Christmas Day has been known for nearly a week. However, the NBA officially announced on Tuesday that the game will take place in the fourth slot of the day, tipping off at 5:00 p.m. PT on ABC and ESPN:

The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day (Thursday, Dec. 25) for the 18th consecutive year, with ABC and ESPN both televising each matchup. pic.twitter.com/GjmfyljacD

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 12, 2025

This Christmas Day slate has been known for some time now, but it’s worth breaking down just how exciting ABC and ESPN’s quintuple-header is going to be. The day begins with the Cleveland Cavaliers facing the New York Knicks at 9:00 a.m. PT, a battle between what are expected to be the two Eastern Conference powerhouses this season.

The NBA then shifts West for the remaining four battles. At 11:30 a.m., the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder host Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and the San Antonio Spurs. At 2:00, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors face Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks in San Francisco, followed by Rockets-Lakers in L.A.

And finally, to cap off the exciting slate, the NBA transitions to Denver for one of the league’s best recent on-court rivalries with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets hosting Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. That game tips off at 7:30 p.m.

Lakers hosting Warriors on Opening Night​

The Rockets, Thunder, Warriors and Lakers are all a part of NBA’s Opening Night on Tuesday, October 21. Houston heads to Oklahoma City for ring night, while Curry and Jimmy Butler head down to L.A. to face the Lakers.

Tip off is at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock, the new home of NBA basketball.

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/lakers-christmas-day-matchup-with-rockets-will-be-in-fourth-time-slot/

 

[Los Angeles Lakers]

2025 Lakers NBA Cup Group Play Schedule

The Los Angeles Lakers have seen both great success and failure in the two-year history of the Emirates NBA Cup. The inaugural in-season tournament saw the Lakers come out on top, hoisting the trophy behind the performance of tournament MVP LeBron James.

The second year of the tournament brought about the opposite outcome as the Lakers failed to advance past the group stage, going just 2-2, which included an embarrassing 27-point loss to the Phoenix Suns and one final loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that sealed their fate.

This year, James and Luka Doncic will look to lead the Lakers, who are once again in Group B, but with a completely different batch of opponents. The Lakers are joined by the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans in what is an intriguing group full of teams capable of a wide range of outcomes.

Of course, the Lakers’ meeting with the Mavericks will be the most anticipated due to last season’s Doncic trade that also saw Anthony Davis sent to Dallas. The Mavericks also have another pair of former Lakers in Max Christie and D’Angelo Russell, not to mention head coach Jason Kidd and assistants Frank Vogel and Phil Handy.

The Clippers, meanwhile, are viewed as potentially one of the best teams in the West after all of their offseason additions and the meeting between L.A. rivals is always a fun one. Both the Grizzlies and Pelicans are complete unknowns going into this season, each possessing great talent but also a ton of questions regarding health and roster fit.

The format for the tournament in its third season remains unchanged as Group Play games will be taking place on ‘Cup Nights’ from Oct. 31 until Nov. 28. Each team will play one game against the other teams in its group with two coming at home and two on the road.

The Lakers are traveling to face the Grizzlies and Pelicans and then will host the Clippers and Mavericks.

Following that, eight teams will advance to the knockout round, the six group winners as well as one wildcard team from each conference. That wildcard team is the team with the best record that finished second in their group with point differential being the tiebreaker.

The quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup will take place on Dec. 9 and 10 with the tournament once again concluding with the semifinals and championship at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The semifinals will take place on Dec. 13 while the finals will go down on Dec. 16.

Lakers Group Play schedule for 2025 Emirates NBA Cup​

Oct. 31: at Memphis Grizzlies, 6:30 p.m. PT (Amazon Prime)
Nov. 14: at New Orleans Pelicans, 5 p.m. PT
Nov. 25: vs. L.A. Clippers, 8 p.m. PT (NBC, Peacock)
Nov. 28: vs. Dallas Mavericks, 7 p.m. PT (Amazon Prime)

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Source: https://lakersnation.com/lakers-news-2025-emirates-nba-cup-group-play-schedule/