Luka Doncic Reacts to Lakers Signing 7-Foot Center DeAndre Ayton originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Los Angeles Lakers adding what many believe to be the key piece their 2024 roster was missing to make an NBA Finals run when they signed 7-foot center DeAndre Ayton to a two-year, $16.6 million deal on Wednesday.

The lack of a physical presence near the rim was, what some would argue, the Lakers’ biggest Achilles heel last season.

While the blockbuster trade that sent 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks and brought 26-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to L.A. was the biggest story of the NBA season, hands down, adding Doncic alone wasn’t enough to push the Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.

Adding Ayton, who was No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft and taken two spots ahead of Doncic, may just make L.A. an NBA Finals favorite provided it can sign Doncic to an extension and convince LeBron James to stick around.

The Lakers’ signing of Ayton was praised by many around the league, but how do the team’s players feel about it? Well, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic, fans now know how Doncic feels about his new teammate.

“Doncic, according to league sources, is excited about the opportunity to play with Ayton,” Woike wrote.

Ayton is also seemingly elated to now be playing alongside Doncic, who he said was “making history, breaking history and just being great” during an interview on ESPN’s “The Jump” a few years back.

While Ayton’s NBA resume, which includes just a first-team NBA All-Rookie Team selection, isn’t quite as impressive as Doncic’s—he’s a five-time All-Star and first-team All-NBA selection, and he won Rookie of the Year, has led the league in scoring and played in an NBA Finals—having two of the top three picks from the 2018 draft on their roster is a nice feather in the Lakers’ cap.

Related: Caitlin Clark’s Behavior During Fever’s Commissioner’s Cup Celebration Turns Heads

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.