Luka Doncic has officially made Los Angeles his home for a little bit longer. After the trade that sent shockwaves throughout the NBA back in February, sending Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, Doncic was instantly welcomed into his new home by his new teammates and seemingly Lakers fans everywhere.
On Saturday, Doncic officially signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers. With fellow superstar, LeBron James picking up his player option earlier this offseason ($52.6 million), the duo will have at least one season together to make a run at championship No. 18 for the storied franchise.
With the ink barely dry on his contract extension, the Lakers decided to surprise Doncic with a celebratory night out on the town. The location was unknown until a member of Doncic’s favorite boy band, posted an epic video of their interaction.
The Lakers took Doncic to the Sphere in Las Vegas to see the Backstreet Boys in concert. And Doncic had the privilege of meeting them backstage, as the group posted the hysterical interaction to their official Instagram account (IG/backstreetboys)
Every Breath You Take” by The Police can be heard playing over the video, and the caption reads, “A Backstreet Boy trying to talk to an NBA player at eye level.”
The video starts with a close up of the two men at eye level, until the camera fades out to reveal Brian Littrell kneeling on a table a few feet off the ground.
In the past, Doncic revealed publicly that his favorite boy band is the Backstreet Boys. It appears the Lakers remembered this bit of personal information and wanted to thank Doncic with a celebration he’d never forget.
With the business of the extension now a thing of the past, Doncic, James, Austin Reaves, and new offseason additions, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart will set their sights on making a championship run for the 2025-26 NBA season.
While Doncic only played in 28 regular season games with the Lakers last season, he fit right in averaging 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. And despite being eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs, Doncic became the fifth player in franchise history to average 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a single playoff series.
Doncic will now take his new contract and new conditioning regimen that was made public in the most recent issue of Men’s Health magazine, and look to lead the Lakers to their first title since 2020.
