10h59 CEST
14/10/2025
Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick has confirmed that Luka Doncic will make his preseason debut against the Phoenix Suns this week.
Doncic has missed out on the Lakers' first two preseason fixtures, which have seen them lose to the Suns, as well as a win and a loss against the Golden State Warriors.
The plan is for Los Angeles to manage Doncic's workload, with the 26-year-old having led Slovenia to the EuroBasket quarter-finals last month.
Indeed, the five-time NBA All-Star scored more points (243) than any other player at the tournament, while he also averaged 34.7 points per game.
Doncic enjoyed a strong debut season for the Lakers in 2024-25 following his blockbuster switch from the Dallas Mavericks in February.
He averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in the NBA as the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After taking on the Suns, Los Angeles closes out their preseason against Doncic's former team, Dallas, before returning to home soil to take on the Sacramento Kings.
Redick confirmed that Doncic will feature in either the Mavericks or Kings match, though they will proceed with caution about his availability against Phoenix.
"I would say there will most likely be a ramp-up from Game 1 to Game 2 in Luka's minutes," Redick said.
"What that total number looks like, we're still talking to Javy and Luka about what kind of makes sense."
When asked how he planned to use Doncic, Redick simply said: "Give him the ball."
Sunday Win pic.twitter.com/NLvAzBgJjI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 13, 2025
Redick also revealed that Marcus Smart, who has been out with Achilles tendinopathy, will also make his Lakers debut in Phoenix, while Austin Reaves will also take part.
The Lakers open the new NBA season against Golden State next week, though Redick conceded that he is still trying to figure out his starting lineup.
LeBron James will also be out at least another two to three weeks with sciatica on his right side before being reevaluated.
"You want to put your five best players on the court as much as possible. You also want to have balance with every lineup," Redick added.
"When we do our substitution metrics: Who is going to guard? Who is going to create? Are we going to have enough shooting?
"So you're doing that with every lineup you put out there, including the starting lineup.
"We're still working through that, and obviously losing LeBron for the start of the year in some ways complicates things a little bit.
"So, we have a week to figure that out, and I think it will reveal itself to us."