By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Los Angeles Lakers started the 2026–27 NBA Regular Season with an emphatic statement on Wednesday, beating the Golden State Warriors 127–105 at crypto.com Arena. The lopsided score showed a pretty clear gap between a fresh squad with a new leader and a shorthanded visiting roster.
Slovenian star Luka Doncic led the charge. He scored a game-high 28 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including five three-pointers. The 27-year-old playmaker spent 29 minutes on the court and flirted with a triple-double, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists, while forcing three steals.
In European help from their bench, Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in five points, four rebounds, two steals, and two assists. On the other side, Dutch Malevy Leons logged nine scoreless minutes.
A new era begins in LA
Doncic set the tone hours before the game even started. He took out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times with a direct message to fans. “Tonight we start our run for a championship,” he wrote and later backed up the talk.
Furthermore, the Ljubljana native confirmed his intentions to play out his career in LA. “Hopefully, yeah,” he noted, adding that in the NBA business, you never really know what will happen.
Porzingis drama
In contrast to Lakers drama, a cloud of uncertainty follows the Warriors. They had to play without Latvian Kristaps Porzingis, whose future looks incredibly shaky.
Before tip-off, Golden State released a statement about their center. “In response to today’s media report regarding Kristaps Porziņģis, we are not going to comment on trade speculation or reports regarding his health-related matter or future,” the front office said.
They added that talks with the Latvian player and his agents will stay private, and made it clear that Porzingis will be gone for a while, stating they do not expect him around the lineup anytime soon.
Make 
Your Preferred Basketball Source.
Add Eurohoops to Google