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Luka Doncic's Lakers Debut Garners Big Ratings For ESPN

Doncic's debut for the Lakers earned big ratings for ESPN.

Ryan Phillips

Luka Doncic had 14 points in his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Luka Doncic had 14 points in his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Luka Doncic and LeBron James are good for the bottom line.

Doncic's debut with the Los Angeles Lakers garnered big ratings for ESPN on Monday night.The network reports LA's blowout win over the Utah Jazz had an average audience of 2.01 million, and peaked at 2.55 million viewers. That was up 42% over last year's ESPN average. The game won the day in a few key demographics, including males 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54.

Further, Sports Media Watch says this was the biggest cable audience for an NBA game since Klay Thompson returned to face the Golden State Warriors on November 12 (2.14 million).

In his debut, Doncic scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists in 24 minutes. It was his first game since injuring his calf on Christmas Day and he was clearly still working his way back.

The Lakers and Dallas Mavericks stunned the rest of the NBA when they pulled off a blockbuster trade that sent Doncic to LA and Anthony Davis to Dallas—and fans are interested to see the results.

The Doncic-James pairing should be must-see TV for the rest of the season.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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