Luka Dončić Hints At Retiring With Non-Lakers Team In Future

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić has been in the headlines for months on end. Following his world-shattering trade from the Dallas Mavericks in February, everyone has had something to say about Luka, and the commentary varies widely. ‘The Mavs will always regret this.’ ‘The Lakers lost the trade.’ ‘Luka is just entering his prime.’ ‘Luka is declining.’

It’s refreshing, then, to hear something from the player himself, and Luka recently sat down with The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay to discuss a myriad of topics.

Among the most surprising comments made by Dončić in the interview was that he would like to ultimately end his basketball career playing for the team that developed him: Spanish superpower Real Madrid. 

Luka turned into an international sensation with Madrid, and he famously started playing for the organization when he was merely 13 years old. 

When Luka exploded onto the NBA scene as a young rookie, he proved a ton of people wrong about the ability of European players to come into the NBA and handle the competition from the get-go. Dončić has never been shy about crediting his time with Real Madrid as being ample preparation for the pressures of the NBA, even going as far as to suggest on one occasion that certain aspects of playing in the NBA are easier compared with Europe.

Luka is still only 26 years old. He underwent a body transformation this summer and showed off his new, slimmed-down physique while competing for his native Slovenia in the EuroBasket tournament, where he excelled.

Dončić enters his eighth NBA season having already collected five consecutive First Team All-NBA selections and three separate seasons finishing in the top five of NBA MVP voting, including his second NBA season at age 20.

There’s not a ton else for Luka to prove at this point, other than that he can lead a team to a championship. With LeBron James still suiting up for the purple and gold, that could happen for the Lakers in 2025-26.