For the majority of the NBA community, including its most knowledgeable insiders, Luka Doncic’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was shocking. For Doncic, it was heartbreaking. He was leaving a team he considered family and had to hear a general manager comment on his defensive liabilities. Did that deter him? Not according to the woman who manages him.
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Lara Beth Seager, Doncic’s business manager, was not afraid of breaking the news of the trade to the Slovenian, who at that point of the season was still looking to carry the team into the play-offs. GM Nico Harrison, however, wanted a ‘defender’ in the side, which is why he went for a straight Doncic-Anthony Davis swap.
Seager, however, revealed that it wasn’t that tough for Doncic to accept that Los Angeles would be his new home. After all, America wasn’t his home as a whole. He hailed from Slovenia, a country he left at a very, very young age in hopes of achieving stardom. That he did.
In an interview with Sports Business Journal, Seager was asked how she anticipated Doncic would react to Harrison’s decision. “Luka is super strong. Luka is resilient,” she replied.
“He left home at 13 years old and went to Spain to play basketball, and didn’t speak a lick of Spanish. This kid is a survivor and a fighter, and I knew he was going to be OK,” Seager added.
Doncic, indeed, has been a superstar for as long as most basketball fans today can remember. He came to Spain, where he conquered the country and Europe with Real Madrid, becoming MVP in the EuroLeague and the Liga ACB at just 19 years old. He was destined for success in the NBA.
Right from the get-go, Doncic established himself as one of the best players in the league and became the face of the Dallas Mavericks franchise, even carrying them to a Finals appearance in 2024. Between 2018 to 2025 (his entire career in Texas), he has averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.
Had Doncic stayed in Dallas longer — which he admittedly would have loved — he might even have surpassed the legacy of Dirk Nowitzki, widely regarded as the greatest Maverick of all time, who spent 21 years with the team.
Well, that’s just a hypothetical today. He’s now at the Lakers, where the storied franchise has worked hard over the summer to present him as its new face. He even signed a three-year $165 million contract with the Lakers, signaling that he’s not looking to shift camps anywhere else in the medium run.
