At the team’s media day in late September, Luka Dončić said the Lakers should be aiming for a championship in 2026-27: “Realistically I would say championship. Because if that’s not your goal, I don’t know what you’re doing here.” He said it again before the opener on Oct. 21, then led the Lakers to a 127-105 win over the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.
Dončić also told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on media day that he believes the Lakers can win it all this season, adding, “I’m always going to believe. If I don’t believe, nobody believes,” in ESPN’s survey of the biggest questions facing Dončić and the Lakers.
On the day of the opener, he bought a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times that opened with “Tonight we start our run for a championship.” The letter ended with a promise to fans of “No excuses. No nights off.”
This is the first season since 2017-18 that the Lakers have started without LeBron James, who left in free agency this offseason to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2025-26, Dončić led the league at 33.5 points per game. The Lakers finished 53-29, but a hamstring injury he suffered on April 2 kept him out for the rest of the season, including the team’s run to the second round.
Against Golden State, Dončić had 28 points on 7-of-18 shooting (5-of-12 from three, 9-of-9 at the line), eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and six turnovers. He also hit a half-court bank shot at the halftime buzzer that put the Lakers up 66-52.
Walker Kessler scored 26 points on 12-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds in his Lakers debut, and Austin Reaves added 23 points and six assists. Six of the nine players in the Lakers’ rotation were new to the team, and the Warriors were shorthanded.
The Title Case Depends on Dončić Staying Healthy
Dončić has now set the championship bar three times: at media day, to ESPN and in a paid ad. That puts the target on him personally rather than on the front office.
The opener showed his connection with Kessler working right away. It said nothing about the playoffs, which is where the Lakers’ last season fell apart. In 2025-26 the team won 53 games and still got only as far as the second round once his hamstring gave out on April 2.
With James gone and a mostly new rotation around him, the Lakers have no other proven star to cover for him. Their title hopes rest less on how good this roster looks in October than on whether Dončić is healthy in April.
The Clippers Visit Crypto.com Arena on Friday
The Lakers host the Clippers on Oct. 23, then play at Utah on Oct. 25. Their NBA Cup group play opens Oct. 30 with a rematch at Golden State.
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