Luka and the Revenge Tour

There is that old saying: Revenge is a dish best served cold.

At nauseum, the Luka Doncic trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers has been dissected to the bare minimum. The Dallas Mavericks traded the 26-year-old perennial star to the Lakers for the equivalent of a box of candy. Not necessarily, but the implication still exists.

The Minnesota Timberwolves ousted the Lakers in six games, and once the Lakers made their quick exit, the rumblings began. Would Lebron retire? Would the Lakers brass find the proper pieces to fill the holes in their roster? But most importantly, would Luka turn the national narrative surrounding him? All the analysts said the same thing repeatedly.

Graphic courtesy The Sports Rush

Luka could never be the leader of a championship team. He’s overweight. He’s a liability on defense. The list goes on and on.

The summer came, and for quite some time, the only talk surrounding the Lakers was whether Lebron would stay or he would go. The summer was reasonably quiet in Los Angeles.

Then, Luka popped up on Men’s Health magazine, and the summer opened wide open into the LA sun.

Luka was slim. Luka had transformed his whole appearance and changed his diet. Hit a reset button on his playing career. The basketball world erupted. The past seemed to be in the rearview mirror.

The Dallas Mavericks organization dragged their previous generational star’s reputation through the mud. When he arrived on an airplane in LA, Luka was the brunt of everyone’s criticism. Yes, the Mavericks did something that could be called delusional, but at its core, people thought what they did was warranted. They said Luka was never going to lead the Mavericks to a championship because he wasn’t committed to the craft. The debates were endless. And through all of that, Luka navigated it all. When he returned to Dallas, the grief was still evident in a lot of ways.

Luka’s body transformation is commendable. His signing an extension with the Lakers makes sense. Lebron is at the twilight of his basketball career, and the Lakers brass know they need someone else to be the face of the franchise, plain and simple. But stop and consider for one second that Luka didn’t do this shift because the Dallas Mavericks traded him, or because the narrative surrounding him was so tiring to listen to.

Luka did this because Luka wanted to.

In the national commercial for the release of Luka’s new shoes, Luka is on trial. It reinforces the narrative that Luka shrugs off criticism or doesn’t take it seriously. But on the basketball court, he antagonizes his opponent and takes humor in it. In the commercial, Luka sits in the chair with his feet up. Sly grin. Confident. And Luka has never lacked confidence. He knows he’s great.

Take one look at any game-winning shot, any game-winning drive, or any thirty-point game in the playoffs he ever had, and it is apparent that he has confidence. Luka is a transcendent player for a reason. Love him or hate him, denying that would not be substantial. Luka is the real deal.

So, even thinking for a few seconds that Luka’s transformation is for anyone but himself could be misguided. He knows what it takes to get to the championship. He did it. He saw it firsthand at the expense of the Boston Celtics.

If there is one thing that Luka dislikes, I would think that it is losing. He has won at numerous different levels. Losing is every star athlete’s worst nightmare. They don’t like it. They can learn from it, yes. They can cherish the moments along the way, yes. But losing sucks. And that is, plain and simple.

As Luka sat on the airplane headed to LA, nobody knew what was going through his head. One could guess there were a lot of thoughts about what just happened. Why did this happen? And do not pick up any phone calls from Nico Harrison. It was too late by then. Coming down those steps, his time with the Mavericks was over. He was a Laker now. His life was going to change course.

From that moment on, Luka Doncic had to worry about Luka Doncic. At least when it came to the basketball court. Yes, of course, his new teammates were important. His old friends/teammates from Dallas were still important. But that day, Luka had to learn something the hard way. There is no loyalty in sports. No organization will keep you around if it genuinely doesn’t want to.

Luka doesn’t need to worry about revenge. Luka doesn’t need anyone’s validation. LA isn’t for the weak-hearted. And one thing we know for sure is that Luka isn’t weak. He shrugs at adversity. He shrugs at the thought of revenge, too.