The Los Angeles Lakers are halfway through their preseason slate having played three of six games and to this point, Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart have not yet suited up.
Doncic is not injured but after playing for Slovenia in EuroBasket over the summer, the organization wants to be cautious in the preseason knowing the superstar will carry a very heavy workload once the regular season begins.
Smart, on the other hand, dealt with minor Achilles tendinopathy and then an illness, which delayed him being to play to this point.
Building chemistry with his teammates is still important though, so the plan all along has been for Doncic and Smart to suit up in two preseason games. It appears the first one will be on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, per Dan Woike of The Athletic:
The plan, JJ Redick says, is for Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart to all play tomorrow in Phoenix
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) October 13, 2025
The Lakers’ final three preseason games are Tuesday in Phoenix, Wednesday in Las Vegas against the Dallas Mavericks and then Friday back home against the Sacramento Kings.
If Doncic and Smart play on Tuesday then it’s reasonable to expect them to sit out Wednesday’s game against Dallas as it wouldn’t make much sense to play a back-to-back in the preseason. That would leave Friday’s game as a final dress rehearsal for Doncic, Smart and the Lakers before Opening Night on Oct. 21.
After getting into the best shape of his life this offseason, Doncic looked incredible playing for Slovenia in EuroBasket. It will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off on Tuesday, although the preseason will likely be used to knock off some rust before the games start to count.
Luka Doncic on Lakers’ mindset with LeBron James out
The Lakers will be without LeBron James to begin the season, which means Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart and others will have to pick up the slack. Doncic discussed the loss of James and the Lakers’ mindset until he comes back.
“It’s a big change,” the All-NBA guard said after practice on Saturday. “He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality needs to be ‘next man up.’ We got a group of guys that have been practicing and hopefully LeBron can join us as soon as possible. We are going to obviously need him. But our mentality has got to be ‘next man up.’ That’s it.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!