The Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic wasted little time in agreeing to a lucrative three-season, maximum-salaried contract extension for the five-time All-NBA First Team superstar.
Per Shams Charania of ESPN, Doncic will have a player option for the 2028-29 season — the third year of the deal. Should he decline the option, the 6-foot-6 guard will be eligible for a five-season, $417 million maximum deal at that point.
This is because maximum-salaried players can earn "only" up to 30 percent of a team's salary cap through their first 10 seasons, but they start netting 35 percent on maximum deals after that point.
This now keeps Doncic out of free agency next summer and committed to the Lakers -- and makes him eligible for a projected five years and $417 million in 2028. https://t.co/V10h5cdxDe
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2025
The 26-year-old guard's new deal could is slated to be worth $160.8 million, provided the league's latest projection of its 7 percent cap increase. The deal could be worth up to $165.3 million, should the cap increase by 10 percent
Doncic was done dirty by the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning midseason trade last season. After the 6-foot-6 guard had brought Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals, general manager Nico Harrison shockingly decided to ship the 26-year-old star off to Los Angeles.
By ditching Doncic, the Mavericks avoided having to ink him to a five-year, $345 million contract extension this summer — a move that the team clearly didn't want to make, as it was wary about his long-term fitness. Doncic missed 32 games in 2024-25 while struggling through a calf injury.
Los Angeles scooped up Doncic (for the relatively low price of 10-time All-Stars, young guard Max Christie, a 2029 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick via the L.A. Clippers), and inked him to a shorter-term deal so that he could start to make back some of the money he lost sooner rather than later.
In 28 healthy regular season contests with the Lakers last season, Doncic averaged 28.2 points on .438/.379/.791 shooting splits, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.6 steals a night
