Norm Nixon Sends Strong Message to Luka Doncic as Lakers Enter New Era

Los Angeles Lakers legend Norm Nixon weighs in on the expectations that come with Luka Doncic becoming the face of the franchise.

Mar 19, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) after 60 point game against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Isabella Frias-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the post-LeBron James era gets underway for the Los Angeles Lakers, the torch has been passed, with the storied franchise going all in on building around Luka Doncic for the foreseeable future.

With Doncic now officially being the Lakers’ new franchise player, the pressure is on to show results in the pursuit of winning an 18th NBA title.

Norm Nixon: Luka Doncic Has ‘Got to Win’ As New Face of the Lakers

During an exclusive one-on-one interview with Lakers On SI, Lakers legend Norm Nixon shared his thoughts on Doncic and what the superstar guard has to understand about being the leader of the iconic NBA franchise.

“Got to win championships,” Nixon said of Doncic. “You've got to win, man. If you're the guy and you don't win, after a few years, they go, ‘Hey, what's going on now? I thought you brought him in here to build around him so we could win championships.’

“You've got to win. That's it.”

The Lakers brass made significant changes to the team’s roster during the NBA offseason. Outside of Austin Reaves and a few others like Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, Adou Thiero, Jake LaRavia and Chris Manon, Doncic will be playing with several new players.

Los Angeles has added Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Jaden Hardy, AK Okereke (two-way contract) and Arthur Kaluma (two-way contract) to the roster.

With a lot of new changes, things can get rocky early, as the team tries to build chemistry, but Doncic did his part this summer to fast-track that with a Lakers minicamp in Slovenia, which has received rave reviews from all the newcomers on the squad.

Norm Nixon Reacts to Lakers Ownership Situation & Jeanie Buss’ Status

Mar 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers majority owner Mark Walter and team executive Jeannie Buss in attendance at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Lakers drafted Nixon No. 22 overall in the 1977 NBA Draft, which is two years before Dr. Jerry Buss bought the team from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979.

However, the majority of his stint with the Lakers was under Dr. Buss, who called the shots, so he offered his perspective on what has become a somewhat tense and unfortunate situation between Jeanie Buss and the Buss family.

“There's so much still going on. I don't think Jeanie [Buss] wants to be out yet,” Nixon said. “It's still part of her legacy. She was representative with the Board of Governors, so I think she still wanted to keep her hand in that portion of it.

“But with new owners, I'm sure they wanted their people to be in that position. So to see those kind of fights is disheartening a little bit because the team was always owned by the Buss family when I played, so a little disheartening from that perspective.”

Currently, Jeanie Buss is trying to block the sale of the Buss family’s remaining stake (17.8%) in the team, which has turned into a legal battle that will be heard in court in December, so there’s no telling how this will pan out or when it will be resolved.

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