Lakers’ Quentin Grimes Shares What Makes Luka Doncic a ‘One-of-One’ Talent

Once the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off the bold sign-and-trade to acquire center Walker Kessler, the team’s brass wasted no time in filling out the roster with free agents.

Among the first players to agree to a contract with the Lakers was guard Quentin Grimes, who spent time playing alongside superstar Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks.

Quentin Grimes Reveals Why He Chose to Sign With the Lakers

During an appearance on ESPN Radio’s Mason & Ireland, Grimes opened up about what drew him to the Lakers in free agency.

“I think everybody wants to be wanted as a player, and I feel like there was a lot of mutual interest between me and the Lakers for a while now, and then nobody expected Luka to be with the Lakers, and we had a good little run with Dallas,” Grimes said. … “It’s kind of like a no-brainer and a great fit, honestly.”

Grimes also talked about speaking with Lakers head coach JJ Redick and being told what his role would be in Los Angeles if he chose to sign with the storied franchise.

The 26-year-old will have a big role offensively while also being counted on defensively.

“That was really one of the biggest selling points, talking with JJ [Redick] and them and having them being able to pitch me what my role was like coming in and have a a pretty big offensive role within the team, but also having a big leadership role on defensive end as well as taking on that challenge every night of guarding the best players and wanting that responsibility,” Grimes said. “I want to have that challenge every night. So that was really one of the two main things in free agency.”

Quentin Grimes Calls Luka Doncic as a ‘One-of-One’ Talent

Although it was a small sample size, playing only 21 games together in Dallas, Doncic left an impression on Grimes, who described what makes the Lakers superstar different from any other player in the NBA today.

“I think it's really just his pace,” Grimes said of Doncic. “Nobody in the NBA is really like 6’8” with that pace. He plays with his own rhythm, his own cadence, and then he's big enough to just push you on his hip and just bump and just shoot a fader over you or he gets all the way down the hill and makes plays. He’s got a one-in-one vision out there on the court. So his size and pace is just one of one, and it makes it hard.”

Grimes also said that Doncic was the first one to reach out to him after the news broke that he was signing with the Lakers, claiming it was “within five minutes” of the signing being made public.

What Quentin Grimes Brings to the Lakers

Although the Lakers' signing of Grimes wasn’t a splashy move or something that turned a lot of heads around the league or among fans, the University of Houston product brings some much-needed grit to this team, especially following the departure of Marcus Smart.

Grimes can defend at a high level, which he’s clearly prepared to do in Los Angeles, while also being a solid scorer who can stretch the floor, with a career average shooting percentage from beyond the arc at 36.6.

With the Lakers not done making moves, it remains to be seen what Grimes’ role will be on this new-look Lakers squad, but it could be substantial heading into the 2026-27 NBA season.

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