Deandre Ayton and Luka Dončić have always been connected as the Nos. 1 and 3 picks of the 2018 NBA draft, but now they will have an opportunity to play together for the first time in their careers.
“I don’t really know, like something we spoke about or thought about, ‘are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ And it finally came to life,” the Los Angeles Lakers big man told reporters Tuesday. “… Coming up as draft prospects and finally here eight years in. It’s actually pretty cool to be this young at our age and finally link up to work together.”
While the 2025-26 season will be the eighth of their respective careers, Ayton (27 years old) and Dončić (26 years old) each entered the league at a young age. That means they are theoretically in the middle of their peak performance seasons, which could be a welcome development for the Lakers.
Dončić has more than lived up to expectations as one of the best players in the league and an expected MVP candidate, while Ayton has been solid but unspectacular for the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers.
He is a double-double threat every time he steps on the court with career averages of 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, but he also isn’t the dominant force teams would expect for a No. 1 overall pick at center.
Yet the 2025-26 season is a golden opportunity for him to take a next step considering he will be playing alongside Dončić and LeBron James. Opposing defenses will almost never be primarily focused on stopping him, which should open up lob opportunities and chances to make plays on the low blocks.
Dončić is an ideal candidate to throw him those lobs considering he so often did that with the bigs on the Dallas Mavericks, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ayton puts up the best numbers of his career on the Lakers.
Perhaps that is exactly what he was envisioning when he previously thought about teaming up with Dončić.
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