Bill Simmons Compares Lakers' Luka Doncic to Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan

The NBA pundit had some strong praise for the Lakers' newest superstar.

Mar 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is guarded by Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a lot of big-time superstars play for them over the years. That's part of the reason why they are one of the most prestigious franchises in the NBA.

The newest superstar to play for the Lakers is Luka Doncic. Doncic came to the Lakers in the infamous Anthony Davis trade a couple of weeks before the trade deadline.

Doncic will be the face of the franchise for the next decade once LeBron James retires. Even now, with James still playing, Doncic seems to have captured the spirit of Los Angeles.

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It's clear that the Lakers fans have already embraced Doncic. Fans have already gobbled up Doncic jerseys, and the love watching him play.

On his most recent podcast, Bill Simmons said that he attended his first Lakers game since Doncic arrived. He thought Crypto.com arena was in a frenzy that only Kobe Bryant was able to whip it into.

"The only other time I felt it at a Laker game like that was when Kobe was playing."

The Lakers loved Bryant in a way that a lot of fanbases don't love their superstars. There are fans who believe that he is the greatest basketball player of all time. That's how much Los Angeles loves him.

If Doncic is already getting fans to love him the way that they love Kobe, that shows you just how special of a player he is. Doncic just needs to be able to stay healthy enough for them to see him more.

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If Doncic is able to help the Lakers win a title in the next few years, the fans will only love him more. He just needs to keep himself healthy, something that he has struggled with.

The Lakers are currently trying to get the second seed in the Western Conference standings. Right now, they are two games behind the Houston Rockets for that spot.

So far with the Lakers, Doncic is averaging 26.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and eight assists per game. he is shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

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