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Luka Doncic Had a Special Cross-Sport Jersey Swap With Rams Star After Lakers Debut

A big night for Doncic ended in a jersey swap with a fellow Los Angeles star.

Liam McKeone

Luka Doncic met Puka Nacua on Monday night
Luka Doncic met Puka Nacua on Monday night / NBA
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Luka Dončić donned a Los Angeles Lakers jersey and stepped onto the Crypto.com Arena floor for the first time on Monday night. His highly-anticipated debut pretty much lived up to expectations. He hit a patented step-back three-pointer for his first bucket in purple and gold, threw a highlight-reel pass to LeBron James, and played only 24 minutes in his first live action since Christmas.

Afterwards, Dončić enjoyed an early taste of the Los Angeles experience when he swapped jerseys with another big name in town, but one who plays a different sport. Dončić was spotted undergoing a jersey swap with none other than Puka Nacua, the star Los Angeles Rams wideout who was named All-Pro as a rookie in 2023.

Dončić also gifted Nacua a pair of kicks, which Nacua joked he'd use for All-Star weekend; the Rams receiver is slated to participate in the celebrity All-Star game on Friday night.

Dončić better get used to this sort of thing. He was already a massive star before coming to the Lakers, of course. But Los Angeles magnifies fame unlike any city in the country. The jersey swaps are only beginning.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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