This is Luka's team now, and he's making sure everyone knows it. Doncic brought Lakers teammates including Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt to Slovenia for offseason work, turning what could've been a normal summer into a full-blown team bonding trip on his home turf.
Lakers in the gym… Slovenia edition‼️ (Via @Lakers) https://t.co/PoHoDOiPsx
It's not just hooping. Vanderbilt got roasted for being a first-timer in the country, and the chemistry-building clips have been rolling out all week as the Lakers try to gel around their new franchise cornerstone post-LeBron.
“This is his first time here.” Jarred Vanderbilt got jokes for Luka Doncic as the Lakers continue to tour Slovenia 🗣️ (via @jvando_/IG) https://t.co/AbFruQm3l0
The most interesting wrinkle came from Marc Stein, who flagged a familiar face lurking on the sideline of Doncic's workout: Holger Geschwindner, the legendary shot doctor who spent decades molding Dirk Nowitzki's game. According to Stein, Geschwindner wasn't there to tinker with Luka's jumper for the Lakers — he's working with Doncic on his Total Hoops Approach youth basketball initiative, alongside The Search Institute, both funded by Doncic himself.
Asked today why Dirk Nowitzki’s shot doctor Holger Geschwindner is seen observing this Luka Dončić-led Lakers workout in Slovenia. A: Holger works closely with Luka on his Total Hoops Approach youth basketball initiatives as does The Search Institute via funding from Dončić.
Doncic and Geschwindner reportedly bonded during Luka's rookie season in Dallas in 2018-19, which happened to be Nowitzki's final year in the league — a passing-of-the-torch year that apparently left a real relationship behind it. Now Doncic is paying it forward, using his own money and connections to build basketball infrastructure back home instead of just running camp drills for the cameras.
None of this reads like a normal NBA offseason obligation. Reports out of the trip describe a multi-day gathering that included golf, a boat ride, and Doncic taking teammates to the actual courts he grew up playing on in Ljubljana. For a Lakers roster that got completely rebuilt around him after LeBron James walked, dragging the new guys to your childhood neighborhood is about as clear a leadership statement as it gets.
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and the Lakers putting in offseason work in Slovenia 🧪🇸🇮 (via @Lakers) https://t.co/Zo9yozuUQo
The basketball benefit is obvious — new pieces like Reaves and Vanderbilt getting real reps and real time with Luka before training camp even opens is worth more than any highlight reel. But the Geschwindner detail is the part that sticks. It's a reminder that Doncic's ties to Slovenia run deeper than a vacation backdrop, and that this Lakers team is being built in his image, on his terms, starting in his own backyard.