Luka Doncic rejects bigger payday now for $165 million Lakers deal: here’s how much he could cash in later

The worst-kept secret in the NBA is now official — Luka Doncic is staying in Los Angeles. The Slovenian superstar has agreed to a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers, effectively handing him the keys to the franchise.

Doncic, who was shockingly traded to the purple and gold in February of last year, will remain in L.A. through at least 2028. The final season of the deal is a player option, giving Doncic full control over his next move.

Here’s why that matters: Doncic still had one guaranteed year left on his current deal. By adding these three years, his contract would technically run through 2029. But in 2028, he’ll hit a major career milestone — 10 seasons in the league — which would make him eligible for a five-year, $418 million supermax contract. That’s why most expect him to decline the player option and ink a record-setting deal when the time comes.

The deals Luka Doncic turned down

Doncic had other options on the table. He could have signed a four-year, $228.6 million contract now, or waited to hit free agency next summer for a five-year, $259.9 million deal to stay with the Lakers. Testing the market with another team could have brought him roughly $219.4 million over four years. But according to nearly every NBA insider, Doncic leaving Los Angeles was never a realistic possibility.

From Dallas icon to Lakers cornerstone

Before his L.A. chapter, Doncic spent six and a half seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, where he won Rookie of the Year, earned five straight All-NBA First Team selections, and became a perennial MVP candidate. He also made five consecutive All-Star appearances and cemented himself as the face of the franchise.

His Dallas legacy reached a peak in 2024, when he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for just the third time in team history, teaming up with Kyrie Irving in a playoff run so dominant that TNT analyst and former coach Stan Van Gundy called them “the best backcourt in NBA history.”

That partnership ended when Mavericks GM Nico Harrison sent Doncic to Los Angeles — a twist of fate that now sees the Lakers locking him up for the foreseeable future.

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