2026 Los Angeles Lakers Media Day Live Updates, Top Quotes and Reactions

The Lakers are the most famous organization in the NBA. Their faces over the years are some of the biggest names in league history.

We're talking about Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Luka Dončić is next in line, and by all indications from media day, he and his team are ready for the responsibility.

For their thoughts on that and more, scan through our live updates from the day below.

The Lakers have plenty of minutes headed to Luka, Reaves, Grimes, Sexton, LaRavia and maybe even Thybulle at the guard and wing spots, but there's still a shortage of athleticism in the rotation. And Cameron Carr might be able to provide it.

Carr averaged 18.9 points and shot 37.4 percent from deep at Baylor last season. And even more important than that, he's shown electrifying athleticism, especially as a finisher.

Luka and Reaves can make good use of that if he forces his way into the rotation.

In his presser, responding to a reporter who asked how he felt about LeBron leaving, Luka said, "Great." And that little exchange will surely get clipped into oblivion online.

But it doesn't seem like Luka was trying to take a shot at his former teammate or anything. On the contrary, as he shares here, Luka valued his time with one of the greatest players of all time.

Now, it's simply time for him to be the leader again.

Following in the footsteps of arguably the greatest player in NBA history undoubtedly comes with immense pressure. And after two seasons, Bronny James hasn't done a whole lot to relieve it.

But with LeBron now on the Philadelphia 76ers, Bronny may be able to play a bit looser in his minutes. That, in turn, could help him perform a bit more like he does in the G-League.

In 25 appearances there, Bronny has averaged 18.4 points in 30.0 minutes, while shooting 41.3 percent from deep.

Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt both talked about the team having a different offensive approach this season.

And while there will certainly be times when the team can just clear out for Reaves or Luka, having a little more diversity to the attack will help.

Generally speaking, defenses have to work harder and are more easily scrambled when all five opponents are a threat to touch the ball. The danger ratchets it up even more if all five are threats to dribble, shoot or pass.

L.A. has the personnel to play that way. It'll just need its biggest stars to buy in on it.

It'll be fascinating to see how, if at all, Bronny James grows into a bigger role without his father on the team.

In his first two years, he struggled to make a positive impact for the big club, but he's put up solid numbers in the G-League.

And he certainly has the physical tools to be a pest on the defensive end, which is something L.A. needs far more than his offense.

For long stretches of his career, the "3" side of the "3-and-D" equation has been missing for Matisse Thybulle.

But over his last two seasons, he's hit 41.1 percent of his long-range attempts.

Now, he only made 45 total appearances in those two years. There's certainly a chance we're looking at some "small sample theater," but there's enough evidence to suggest he can at least be a passable shooter.

And if he is, given how badly L.A. will need perimeter defense alongside Luka and Reaves, Thybulle could have a real role on this team.

I wouldn't take the above quote from Reaves as a direct shot at LeBron. He and Luka certainly run a lot of pick-and-roll too.

But having one fewer ball-dominant playmaker in the rotation could indeed open up the offense to more ball movement and free-flowing actions.

If it does, the Lakers have the firepower to be borderline unstoppable on offense.

The Lakers are suddenly a much younger team than they've been in the past. They're oldest player, Kevon Looney, is just 30 years old.

But that doesn't mean he hasn't been through a ton. Looney won two titles with the Golden State Warriors, and he got used to the veteran leader role with New Orleans.

Now, he brings all that experience to an L.A. squad that needs it, while still having enough left in the tank to be a real backup to Walker Kessler.

Collin Sexton is absolutely right about his ability to bring energy to a team that may need it.

And over the last few years, that energy has been channeled into him turning into a very effective and productive reserve guard.

He has a positive box plus/minus over his last three seasons, with averages of 17.5 points, 4.2 assists and 1.7 threes in just 26.1 minutes.

The Lakers have tons of offense at the guard spots with Luka and Reaves, so it's imperative for the rest of the starting five to feature plenty of defense.

Quentin Grimes provided exactly that early in his career, but he's shifted (at least a bit) toward offense in recent years.

If he zeroes back in on the defensive end and is willing to be more of a catch-and-shoot threat playing off Luka on offense, Grimes could be in for his best three-and-D season yet.

L.A. will be considered a long shot in a conference that includes the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, but it boasts one of the most dangerous playoff performers in NBA history in Luka.

He's now the unquestioned alpha on the roster and surrounded by a good amount of length and shooting. He has a good rim runner and defensive anchor in Walker Kessler.

Even with some shortcomings on the defensive end, this feels very much like an "if everything breaks right" championship contender.

Beyond helping the media pronounce his lengthy last name, Sandro Mamukelashvili talked a lot about his versatility and how it will help the Lakers.

Last season, as a reserve for the Toronto Raptors, he averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in just 21.9 minutes, while shooting 38.9 percent from deep.

With his ability to shoot and attack scrambled defenses, he could feast in lineups with Reaves and Luka.

Even on teams with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers got much of their personality from head coach JJ Redick.

That could be even more the case with LeBron gone, but he'll certainly give Luka and Reaves the freedom they need to thrive on offense too.

As a trio, they could lead L.A. to one of the best and most explosive offenses in the NBA.

Since he joined the Lakers, Luka Dončić has averaged 38.6 points and 9.0 assists per 75 possessions, with a 62.0 true shooting percentage, when LeBron James is off the floor.

Right off the bat, Walker Kessler raved about the opportunity to play with a pair of creators like Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.

Those two will be, by far, the best playmakers Kessler has shared the floor with in his NBA career. And with his size, Kessler is sure to instantly be one of the best lob threats in the league.

When asked if he remembers the first one he caught from Luka, Kessler laughed and recounted their pickup runs in Slovenia.

The chemistry is clearly brewing already.

Luka is now in front of the media throng and talking about the legacy he's carrying now.

Over the organization's history, it's won championships with Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

He's the next all-timer in line to carry that torch, and he says he's ready to do that.

Someone can't help himself during the Lakers media day, an annual tradition that always leads to some joking around.

At the start of his press conference, Luka raved about the team's trip to Slovenia. He said it was a good environment for the Lakers to get to know each other outside of work.

He also talked about his health, the fact that there are no restrictions lingering from his hamstring injury and his desire to get back on the floor.

He sounds excited about the overhauled roster, and specifically said he feels "great" about this now being, undoubtedly, his team.

L.A. started with its longest tenured Laker, Austin Reaves. And Luka Dončić should be next.

As the press conference gets rolling and the quotes come in, we'll keep you up to date on everything here.

Austin Reaves was first to speak for the Lakers on media day, and he's hit on a number of topics already.

Reaves described the team's trip to Slovenia, where they played basketball and golf together and built chemistry. He also talked about stepping into a leadership role, now that longtime Lakers like LeBron James and Rui Hachimura are gone.

"I'm not going to lead the same way Bron does, the same way Luka does."

He said he'd do more with one-on-one conversations than he will in group settings, but it sounds like he's ready to embrace a leadership role and a bigger spotlight.

With the exception of Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić, L.A.'s rotation is going to look dramatically different than last season's.

There's a total of seven returners from the 2025-26 squad, but outside of the stars and maybe Jake LaRavia, none are guaranteed minutes for 2026-27.

The roster has been remade to fit around Luka and maximize offensive potential. And it will get its first real chances to do that in the coming weeks.

We're mere minutes away from the Lakers' new-look roster taking the stage for media. There's sure to be plenty of noteworthy comments throughout.

A few days ago, Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick spoke to the media about the upcoming campaign, and the topic of the starting lineup came up.

Dončić, Reaves and Kessler are obvious calls for three of those spots, but it sounds like Redick has some work to do to determine who the starting forwards will be.

Thursday, he quipped about the likelihood that those fourth and fifth starters will, well, look like the three in stone.

Now, "the other two spots will not be two white guys" was obviously said, at least in part, in jest. But if we take the other part seriously, it bodes well for Quentin Grimes and maybe even Collin Sexton for a smaller lineup.