Luka Doncic is the type of superstar who thrives with having elite shooting around him. That is why it was tough to see Rui Hachimura walk out the door. Thankfully for the Los Angeles Lakers, Sandro Mamukelashvili is preparing himself to fill that shooting void on the perimeter.
Mamukelashvili was one of several new Laker signings who made an appearance at Las Vegas Summer League and took the time to speak with the media. The $52 million man created a lot of buzz by discussing how he is readying his game to compliment that of the franchise superstar.
"[Luka] reached out. He said he's very excited that I'm part of the team. He can't wait to get to work. I said I'm going to the gym and I'm shooting a million 3s right now, scoring 3s to make sure I'm ready. So, that was literally the conversation."
Practicing the triples is sure to pay dividends in an offense with Doncic. Luka is elite at commanding defensive attention and leveraging that into scoring opportunities, particularly on the perimeter, for his teammates. Mamukelashvili sharpening his shooting will allow him to thrive off that.
Sandro Mamukelashvili should help mitigate the shooting void left by Rui Hachimura
Hachimura was absolutely deadly from beyond the arc with the Lakers last season. Rui shot 44.3 percent on those long looks during the regular season before upping that number to a ridiculous 56.9 percent (on 5.8 attempts) in the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
There is good reason as to why it was reported that Doncic preferred to have Hachimura back with the Lakers. Luka will have to make do without him. Mamukelashvili should help in that department.
Mamu has not experienced the consistent highs that Hachimura has enjoyed as a 3-point shooter. However, the new Lakers big man is no slouch in that department by any means.
Mamukelashvili had the best shooting season of his career, when factoring in attempts and percentage, in 2025-26. A clip of 38.9 percent on 3.7 shots per game in nothing to scoff at. It all helped add to a career-high 63.7 true shooting percentage.
The quality of those looks is only going to improve in Los Angeles by comparison to what Mamu had with the Toronto Raptors for 2025-26. Scottie Barnes is a gifted playmaker and creator, but the young Raptors cornerstone has nothing on Doncic in those areas.
After a breakout year, Mamukelashvili should have every opportunity to keep building on that success next to his new superstar point guard. Doncic creates easy looks. It will be on Mamu to keep putting in the work this summer and ensure they are going to drop when the 2026-27 season arrives.
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