What do you get when you mix the most popular team in the NBA with one of the most talented superstars of a generation?
You get the league leader in fan voting for the NBA All-Star game, Luka Dončić.
Having
long established himself as one of the top players in the league, it’s never been a doubt whether Luka would make the All-Star game from his second season on. What hasn’t ever happened, though, is him leading the league in votes.
But with LeBron out with injury to start the year, paired with Luka being the new face of the franchise, he has vaulted to the top of the voting totals in each of the two returns so far. While that may be business as usual for someone like LeBron, it’s a milestone that means something to Luka.
“Honestly, it does,” Luka said after Wednesday’s game against the Spurs. “That’s the first that happened to me. It’s pretty amazing. Just a kid a from Slovenia only can dream about that, dream about being in the NBA. It’s pretty amazing.
“I really appreciate all the votes. I saw it yesterday or two days ago. It definitely hit me. It’s amazing.”
It has long been a consensus that Luka is one of the best players in the league. But a lack of a title and a relatively smaller market in Dallas has meant he never quite ascended to the very top of the league in popularity.
It turns out, though, that getting the Lakers fan base behind him is a pretty useful tool! It puts Luka in a position where he is being more properly recognized for his basketball greatness.
“I think he’s established himself as a global superstar,” head coach JJ Redick said. “He has for years now. Certainly speaks to the popularity of the Lakers brand and the amount of fans that follow us and cheer for us and live and breathe with every shot and every game like everybody in that locker room does. I think he’s a fantastic representative of this organization.”
Being the face of the Lakers makes you’re a near shoo-in to be in the All-Star game. Being a superstar face of the Lakers means you’re also the face of the NBA.
Let this serve as another welcome to the Luka Era in Los Angeles.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
