The scoreboard said preseason. Luka Dončić said something louder. In just eight minutes against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, he piled up 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and immediately reminded everyone that even in October, there are players who can bend a game to their will in a hurry.
That is the early truth of the 2026 preseason for the Los Angeles Lakers: the big names can still take over in short bursts, but the real intrigue sits underneath that. How quickly do the new pieces settle? Which young players actually seize the moment? And how much of this is already starting to look like a team being shaped by JJ Redick rather than merely going through the motions?
Dončić wastes no time
There was nothing tentative about Dončić’s start. He got to 10 points early in the first quarter, and the efficiency mattered as much as the raw total. In a preseason setting, that kind of quick scoring burst does not settle every question, but it does make one thing obvious: the Lakers will not be short on firepower when he is on the floor.
Even more important, the production came without any need for a long warm-up. Eight minutes, 10 points, 4-of-7 shooting. That is the kind of opening that makes the rest of the roster pay attention, because it sets a standard immediately rather than waiting for the game to drift into shape.
The young guys were the real test
If Dončić provided the headline, the supporting cast provided the tension. Darius Acuff’s early stretch was rougher, with the young guard going 1-of-6 from the field and committing two turnovers. That is the sort of preseason line that forces a coach to look past the box score and ask whether the process is there underneath the misses.
Adou Thiero, by contrast, found a way to make himself noticed without needing shots to fall. He made multiple defensive plays and finished a transition possession with an alley-oop, which is exactly the kind of activity that travels well in preseason. Energy, timing and effort are easier to trust than a jumper that has not quite come around yet.
What this says about the Lakers
This is only one preseason game, and nobody should pretend otherwise. But these early minutes matter because they hint at the larger shape of the Lakers’ autumn. The stars can still deliver. The questions are about the rest of the rotation, and whether the younger players and new additions can settle quickly enough to matter once the games actually count.
At this stage, the answer is not fully there yet. But Dončić’s burst against the Kings was a useful reminder that the Lakers have a real engine. Now the job is figuring out which of the other pieces can keep up with it.
