The Los Angeles Lakers wisely kept Austin Reaves and signed him to a four-year contract this offseason to be Luka Doncic’s co-star. Number 77 has played with four other stars, and the team only gets better the longer they stick together. It started back when he was drafted with Jalen Brunson, and Doncic has been with another star for at least part of his eight NBA seasons. Not only does the team’s record improve, but Luka becomes virtually unstoppable with his co-star.
Doncic spent his first six and a half NBA seasons with the Mavericks before Dallas traded him to the Lakers just months after reaching the NBA Finals. He is a six-time first-team All-NBA selection and led the league in scoring two of the last three years. There is no questioning his greatness. Kevon Looney just offered support for his new superstar, but Luka needs the right supporting cast around him to win a championship.
The Lakers built the roster around Luka this summer, including trading for Walker Kessler. Getting Doncic at a discount makes all these moves worth it. Doncic has a history of playing with stars and continuing to improve next to them. It starts with Jalen Brunson and will keep going with Reaves.
Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson kept improving
The Mavericks traded up to select Doncic with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and used the 33rd overall pick on Jalen Brunson. Dallas had taken Dennis Smith Jr. with the ninth overall pick in 2017. They knew they needed a lead ball-handler, and it became clear during his Rookie of the Year campaign that number 77 was that man.
During Luka’s four years with Brunson, Dallas went from 33 wins to 52 wins. Dallas snapped the Mavericks' three-year playoff drought in their second season together. After two straight losses in the first round, the Mavs reached the conference finals in 2022.
Season w/ JB | Mavs record | Win % | Record with Luka and JB | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | 33-49 | 40.2 | 22-42 | 34.4 |
2019-20 | 43-32 | 57.3 | 29-16 | 64.4 |
2020-21 | 42-30 | 58.3 | 38-24 | 61.3 |
2021-22 | 52-30 | 63.4 | 42-20 | 67.7 |
Dallas won 40.2 percent of their regular-season games during their rookie year and 63.4 percent in their final year together. They went from winning 34.4 percent of the 64 games Luka and Brunson played together to 67.7 percent in year four, according to StatMuse.
JB left the Mavericks in free agency after the 2022 trip to the conference finals to join the New York Knicks. He was never an All-Star in Dallas. The Mavericks didn’t play the duo together for significant minutes until the final season. It was clear that Brunson was breaking out as Dallas fumbled the entire situation. That wasn’t Luka’s only co-star during this era.
Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis kept getting better despite the noise
During Luka’s rookie year, the Mavericks made a bold trade for Porzingis. The 2018 All-Star was recovering from a torn ACL and wanted out of New York. Dallas wasted no time in trading for KP, but he missed the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Porzingis signed a max extension in July 2019 before even playing one game for the Mavs.
KP struggled to stay healthy during his time in Dallas, and the noise quickly grew about the duo. Head coach Rick Carlisle didn’t want Porzingis posting up. He viewed KP as a floor spacer, which caused some friction.
Still, the Mavericks won 59.6 percent of the games Luka and KP played together in the 2019-20 season. That rose to 60 percent the following year and sat at 65.2 percent over a small sample size when Dallas moved on at the 2022 trade deadline. They just couldn’t trust Porzingis to stay healthy and didn’t want to waste a year of Doncic playing at an elite level.
Season w/ KP | Mavs record | Win % | Record with Luka and KP | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-20 | 43-32 | 57.3 | 28-19 | 59.6 |
2020-21 | 42-30 | 58.3 | 24-16 | 60.0 |
2021-22 | 33-23 | 58.9 | 15-8 | 65.2 |
The Unicorn’s injury history has only gotten worse, but he did help the Celtics defeat the Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals some sweet revenge.
Luka Doncic made the NBA Finals with Kyrie Irving
Doncic started the 2022-23 season without a co-star. KP was traded to Washington and Brunson moved on to New York. Luka had Dallas at three games over .500 in early February, despite his questionable supporting cast.
The Mavs bought low on Kyrie Irving as the Nets fell apart. There were questions about this working, and those grew louder as Dallas had a 10-18 record after the trade and fell into the lottery.
The next year, the Mavericks won 50 games and reached the NBA Finals. They were 35-16 during the regular season when Doncic and Irving shared the floor. Dallas defeated the Clippers, Thunder, and Timberwolves to win the Western Conference.
Season w/ Kyrie | Mavs record | Win % | Record with Luka and Kyrie | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2022-23 | 10-18 | 35.7 | 5-11 | 31.3 |
2023-24 | 50-32 | 61.0 | 35-16 | 68.6 |
2024-25 | 26-23 | 53.1 | 12-8 | 60.0 |
This looked like a special duo, and fans thought Dallas might be on the cusp of winning it all when Doncic was traded to the Lakers. The deal was a disaster for the Mavericks in the middle of an injury-plagued season for their entire roster.
It has led to a total rebuild, and fans will never know what this duo could accomplish. After the rocky start, Doncic and Irving won 66.2 percent of the 71 regular-season games they played together.
Luka Doncic has kept getting better with LeBron James and Austin Reaves
The Lakers won 62.9 percent of their games after Luka arrived in 2025. Their win percentage rose to 64.6 percent last season. Doncic won over 65 percent of the 72 games he played with LeBron James before the GOAT’s departure this offseason. Fans won’t forget the 15-2 March the Lakers had with their three stars healthy, which had everyone thinking LA might just be a title contender.
Season w/ LeBron | Lakers record | Win % | Record with Luka and Bron | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2024-25 | 22-13 | 62.9 | 15-8 | 65.2 |
2025-26 | 53-29 | 64.6 | 32-17 | 65.3 |
Reaves was the number three option after Doncic arrived, but he became the number two last season. The Lakers were 30-11 with Luka and AR in the lineup. That 73.2 winning percentage would have been just below the Spurs if the Lakers kept it up over the entire season.
Season w/ AR | Lakers record | Win % | Record with Luka and AR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2024-25 | 22-13 | 62.9 | 16-10 | 61.5 |
2025-26 | 53-29 | 64.6 | 30-11 | 73.2 |
Reaves is looking to make his first All-Star appearance and prove he is the Lakers' second star. History is on Luka’s side as he enters his third year with Reaves, and first with the roster fully built around him.
Lakers will be special if the trend continues
Luka’s team has improved every year when playing with a co-star, and they win an average of eight percent more each year when the duo plays together. That would put the Lakers winning 80 percent of the games Doncic and Reaves played together. That is unlikely to happen, but don’t be surprised to see LA win 55 games and be a top three seed in the West.
The Mavericks couldn’t get out of their own way during the Luka Doncic era. Los Angeles is determined to avoid those mistakes. They have built the entire roster around number 77 and plan on winning a championship with him as their superstar.
The Los Angeles Lakers need continuity with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The numbers don’t lie. Luka keeps getting better the longer he plays with a co-star. The Lakers just locked in AR long-term and need to let this duo grow together. If history repeats, the results will be consistent improvement.
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