The Los Angeles Lakers will look to stave off elimination on Wednesday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round series and extend what has been a whirlwind season in L.A.
The team hired a new coach prior to the season in JJ Redick and then pulled off the most shocking trade in league history in January when they sent Anthony Davis to Dallas for Luka Doncic. Since arriving in L.A., Dončić has helped lead the Lakers to a terrific record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, but he is still adjusting to the sudden change of scenery that no one, including him, saw coming.
He is steadily acclimating to his new team and city, and quickly looked to involve himself in the community. Shortly after joining the Lakers, Dončić donated $500,000 to relief efforts after the devastating fires that swept through L.A. in January, and this week while the Lakers are in the midst of a playoff battle, he donated $5,000 to cover the cost of restoring a vandalized mural of Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
The mural, which was put up in 2020, was done by artist Louie “Sloe” Motions, who posted to the @KobeMural Instagram page about the vandalism with a link to a GoFundMe page with a $5,000 goal for the paints and supplies needed. The top donation on the page is $5,000 from Dončić, covering the entirety of the goal.
“Kobe is L.A. He and Gigi mean so much to this city, to the Lakers organization and to me personally,” Doncic told the L.A. Times Tuesday through a representative. “I’m happy to do anything to help make sure he and his daughter are honored.”
While Dončić can certainly afford a $5,000 donation, it’s still a meaningful act that further ingratiates him with the Lakers community. The Lakers have had a number of stars, but there is no one that connected more with L.A. and this current generation of Lakers fans than Bryant.
Dončić himself is among the many current NBA stars that grew up as Kobe fans, and for him to do something to help honor Bryant and his daughter’s memory in L.A. during the playoffs is a very nice gesture.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Lautaro Martinez injury: Inter striker likely out for Champions League second leg, who can replace him?
Getty Images Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is unlikely to feature in the UEFA Champions League's second leg semifinal against FC Barcelona that will take place on Tuesday in Milan, after the two teams drew 3-3 in the first leg in Barcelona on Wednesday. The Italian giants are still holding out hope and will see over the next few days if their captain will be able to feature in the squad at all, after the Argentinian striker sustained a muscular injury that forced Inter coach Simone Inzaghi to replace him at halftime in Barcelona. Lautaro, according to multiple reports, will try to make it for the second game in Milan, but if things don't go as planned, here's how Inzaghi can cope with the absence of the Inter captain. The Italian club issued a statement on Friday regarding the health conditions of […]
Seven transfer portal WRs primed to make an immediate impact on the 2025 college football season
Getty Images In the modern era of college football, few individual positions are more coveted than wide receiver. A dominant wideout can transform an offense, and highly rated prospects -- out of high school and through the transfer portal -- often draw significant attention from major programs.Just look at a school like Ohio State, which has become a factory for elite wide receivers in recent years. The Buckeyes won a national title last season behind players like Jeremiah Smith -- who shattered both Big Ten and Ohio State true freshman receiving records -- and 2025 first-round NFL Draft pick Emeka Egbuka.The point is: a great wide receiver can elevate quarterback play while easing pressure on other parts of the offense, such as the run game. Fortunately for programs in need of a talent boost, the transfer portal has made it […]
NHL’s Jack Adams Award finalists revealed — Will Spencer Carbery win after last year’s omission?
Scott Arniel of the Winnipeg Jets, Spencer Carbery of the Washington Capitals and Martin St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens were announced on Friday as the NHL’s Jack Adams Award finalists. The award is presented annually to “the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”In his second season, Carbery guided the Capitals to the league’s second-best record while deftly navigating star captain Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of the NHL’s all-time goals record. Ovechkin’s chase never became a distraction, and it appeared to inspire the Capitals, who finished atop the Eastern Conference standings a year after qualifying for the playoffs as the conference’s final wild-card team.AdvertisementCarbery was not a finalist for the Adams last season — a surprise given how little was expected of that squad. These Capitals were not preseason darlings among prognosticators, either.Two of the three […]
Predicting the starting QB for Browns, Colts and Giants, plus ranking every AFC team with Ravens at No. 1
Getty Images Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! If you're wondering what every player in the NFL is doing right now, they're probably on a flight to Louisville so that they can attend the Kentucky Derby. For some reason, it seems to be the one event that NFL players love to attend. Last year, Travis Kelce, Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Jameis Winston and Amon-Ra St. Brown were among the players in attendance and it won't be surprising if we see another large contingent of NFL players at Churchill Downs this year. Maybe Rodgers will show up and then immediately announce that he's signing with the Steelers ... or maybe he'll announce that he's buying a horse and retiring. By the way, if you want to know who's favored to win the 151st Run for the Roses, we've got […]
NBA playoff trends I’m watching: Wolves’ cohesiveness, Cavaliers’ pull-up shooting and more
A reconstructed team looks like it’s been together forever. Long-range gluttons are colliding with 3-point stranglers. And a young squad just learned a lesson.Let’s run through three trends that have caught my eye during the NBA postseason:Wolves on a stringPlayoff narratives are dying in Minnesota.AdvertisementThe NBA’s favorite lightning rod, Rudy Gobert, won the Timberwolves a closeout game. Julius Randle, considered a playoff liability until a week and a half ago, just reeled off his best postseason series ever.The Timberwolves are heading to the second round following a five-game victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. After making some roster changes during training camp, they are four wins away from a second consecutive conference finals appearance. And for all the Lakers chatter that’s followed the series, it was the Wolves’ cohesion that became impossible to ignore.Minnesota took months to get comfortable after […]
Miami GP agrees F1 contract extension until 2041
F1 has announced a new 10-year contract extension with Miami Grand Prix that will see the event stay on the calendar until at least 2041.Miami already had a deal that expires at the end of 2031 but circuit organisers have struck a new contract ahead of this weekend's race, which is the fourth running of the event since it joined the schedule in 2022. There are two other F1 races in the USA, Austin and Las Vegas, as the sport continues to grow in the United States.Las Vegas' contract expires at the end of this year but event organisers are confident of a new deal, while Austin has a contract until 2032.Miami's new contract is the longest of any F1 race and the first that goes into the 2040s. "In just three years, the Miami Grand Prix has established itself […]
Related
Lautaro Martinez injury: Inter striker likely out for Champions League second leg, who can replace him?
Getty Images Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is unlikely to feature in the UEFA Champions League's second leg semifinal against FC Barcelona that will take place on Tuesday in Milan, after the two teams drew 3-3 in the first leg in Barcelona on Wednesday. The Italian giants are still holding out hope and will see over the next few days if their captain will be able to feature in the squad at all, after the Argentinian striker sustained a muscular injury that forced Inter coach Simone Inzaghi to replace him at halftime in Barcelona. Lautaro, according to multiple reports, will try to make it for the second game in Milan, but if things don't go as planned, here's how Inzaghi can cope with the absence of the Inter captain. The Italian club issued a statement on Friday regarding the health conditions of […]
Seven transfer portal WRs primed to make an immediate impact on the 2025 college football season
Getty Images In the modern era of college football, few individual positions are more coveted than wide receiver. A dominant wideout can transform an offense, and highly rated prospects -- out of high school and through the transfer portal -- often draw significant attention from major programs.Just look at a school like Ohio State, which has become a factory for elite wide receivers in recent years. The Buckeyes won a national title last season behind players like Jeremiah Smith -- who shattered both Big Ten and Ohio State true freshman receiving records -- and 2025 first-round NFL Draft pick Emeka Egbuka.The point is: a great wide receiver can elevate quarterback play while easing pressure on other parts of the offense, such as the run game. Fortunately for programs in need of a talent boost, the transfer portal has made it […]
NHL’s Jack Adams Award finalists revealed — Will Spencer Carbery win after last year’s omission?
Scott Arniel of the Winnipeg Jets, Spencer Carbery of the Washington Capitals and Martin St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens were announced on Friday as the NHL’s Jack Adams Award finalists. The award is presented annually to “the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”In his second season, Carbery guided the Capitals to the league’s second-best record while deftly navigating star captain Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of the NHL’s all-time goals record. Ovechkin’s chase never became a distraction, and it appeared to inspire the Capitals, who finished atop the Eastern Conference standings a year after qualifying for the playoffs as the conference’s final wild-card team.AdvertisementCarbery was not a finalist for the Adams last season — a surprise given how little was expected of that squad. These Capitals were not preseason darlings among prognosticators, either.Two of the three […]
Predicting the starting QB for Browns, Colts and Giants, plus ranking every AFC team with Ravens at No. 1
Getty Images Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! If you're wondering what every player in the NFL is doing right now, they're probably on a flight to Louisville so that they can attend the Kentucky Derby. For some reason, it seems to be the one event that NFL players love to attend. Last year, Travis Kelce, Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Jameis Winston and Amon-Ra St. Brown were among the players in attendance and it won't be surprising if we see another large contingent of NFL players at Churchill Downs this year. Maybe Rodgers will show up and then immediately announce that he's signing with the Steelers ... or maybe he'll announce that he's buying a horse and retiring. By the way, if you want to know who's favored to win the 151st Run for the Roses, we've got […]
NBA playoff trends I’m watching: Wolves’ cohesiveness, Cavaliers’ pull-up shooting and more
A reconstructed team looks like it’s been together forever. Long-range gluttons are colliding with 3-point stranglers. And a young squad just learned a lesson.Let’s run through three trends that have caught my eye during the NBA postseason:Wolves on a stringPlayoff narratives are dying in Minnesota.AdvertisementThe NBA’s favorite lightning rod, Rudy Gobert, won the Timberwolves a closeout game. Julius Randle, considered a playoff liability until a week and a half ago, just reeled off his best postseason series ever.The Timberwolves are heading to the second round following a five-game victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. After making some roster changes during training camp, they are four wins away from a second consecutive conference finals appearance. And for all the Lakers chatter that’s followed the series, it was the Wolves’ cohesion that became impossible to ignore.Minnesota took months to get comfortable after […]
Miami GP agrees F1 contract extension until 2041
F1 has announced a new 10-year contract extension with Miami Grand Prix that will see the event stay on the calendar until at least 2041.Miami already had a deal that expires at the end of 2031 but circuit organisers have struck a new contract ahead of this weekend's race, which is the fourth running of the event since it joined the schedule in 2022. There are two other F1 races in the USA, Austin and Las Vegas, as the sport continues to grow in the United States.Las Vegas' contract expires at the end of this year but event organisers are confident of a new deal, while Austin has a contract until 2032.Miami's new contract is the longest of any F1 race and the first that goes into the 2040s. "In just three years, the Miami Grand Prix has established itself […]
Be the first to leave a comment