SACRAMENTO — That is what Luka Doncic has missed.

Not post-practice shooting. Not transition drills where players have to successfully fill their lanes on a fastbreak. 

But the opportunity to play basketball against an opponent after going several months without doing so.

And after six months away from competitive games, Doncic finally got to experience that feeling again, scoring 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 16 first-half minutes during the Lakers’ 127-103 preseason-opening win over the Kings on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.

“Luka, he’s many things, many good things – he’s not really a drill guy in practice,” coach JJ Redick said. “Whenever practice starts, he’s just ‘Are we playing live today?’ Like ‘When is live? When is live?’ He wants to play. He likes the competition, he likes the way live action looks and feels to him. He just has a real joy for playing the actual game of basketball. 

He certainly works on his game. The guy works every single day on his game. But that’s his joy –  playing live basketball.”

And for the longest stretch of time since he entered the NBA in 2018, Doncic wasn’t able to experience that joy for most of 2026.

A severe left hamstring injury he suffered during the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder on April 2 in Oklahoma City ended his 2025-26 season early. Doncic missed the final five regular season games and the Lakers’ 10 playoff games before being swept by the Thunder in the second round. 

And unlike most summers, Doncic didn’t play for the Slovenian national team during the offseason so he could focus on spending time with his two daughters amid an ongoing custody battle with his ex-fianceé, Anamaria Goltes.

Which led to Doncic going just over six months – 184 days to be exact – without playing in an official basketball game. 

“I missed it a lot,” Doncic said. “Basketball is one of the best things in my life, and I missed it a lot. Being back for the games, being competitive, it’s just a lot of fun for me, and I’m really happy to be back.”

Despite not playing in an officially basketball for most of the year, Doncic was able to channel his competitiveness in other ways. 

“Golf is one of the things, honestly,” he said. “I’m always competitive on the golf course. You gotta have competition every day. But then also, I practice basketball, so it was competitive there. Play some other games, being competitive there. Playing cards is competitive there. It’s just being competitive every day.”

Doncic said he didn’t change much about his offseason training routine, outside of probably feeling a little more rested since he didn’t play with his national team.

But he looked notably slimmer coming out of this offseason, even after his slimmed-down physique was a significant talking point during the 2025 to the point of being on the cover of Men’s Health magazine. 

“He’s great physically,” Redick said of Doncic. “I mean, the guy worked his butt off all summer. [Stayed] in shape and actually ran this summer, like he actually did like sprints and stuff. And came into camp in fantastic shape. For someone who normally plays a ton of basketball, live basketball, he didn’t do as much of that this summer by design. And I think we’ve seen him literally every day in camp incrementally just [getting] more and more in rhythm.”

The Lakers team Doncic returned to was much different than the one he previously played on. 

Gone are LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton and most of the players who had a significant role in the Lakers winning a first-round playoff series against the Rockets despite Doncic’s absence. 

Nine new players are on the roster, showcasing against the Kings why the Lakers added them to the team.

From the defensive havoc Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle were creating with their fullcourt pressure, to the offensive firepower Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili were showcasing. 

The Lakers forced 15 turnovers in the first half, scoring 22 points off those takeaways, to help build a 73-47 lead after the opening two quarters before Doncic sat out for the remainder of the game.

“We all had fun out there, especially with Matisse and Ziaire, just that beginning of the game, the start, that’s contagious for everybody, and how they start the game, it was inspirational,” Doncic said. “So, and then the other guys came from the bench, and it was amazing just to watch them. They were having fun, they were sharing the ball, so I think the whole team had a lot of fun.”

The team’s marquee addition, center Walker Kessler, didn’t play because of a minor finger injury.

Star guard Austin Reaves (ankle), veteran guard Collin Sexton (calf) and two-way forward Arthur Kaluma also didn’t play against the Kings with their minor injuries.