Revealing Doncic s trip to the United States: From the Lakers contract renewal to the surprise of attending the backstreet boys concert

A few days ago, the Slovenian star flew to New York to embark on a trip to the United States, and at this moment he is standing on the rooftop rooftop of Los Angeles, a city he has just promised to entrust his golden years of his career to end the tour. The time point of this trip is a wonderful coincidence: the plan of New York-Chicago-Los Angeles was actually finalized long before the Dallas Mavericks decided to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers.

So on this Sunday night, he stood at the last stop of the tour, as a guest of the Jordan brand global event "The One", and as a judge of the dunk contest, he scored and watched the one-on-one confrontation. After a full week of interviews, public events and commercial shootings, as long as he completes this final stage, he will be able to embark on a 13-hour peaceful voyage back to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

"Exhausted. "He described his current state in this way.

But at this moment, he heard - player Kaiden Bailey shouting at the audience and opponent after scoring "He can't defend me at all " - this sentence instantly injected energy into Doncic. An iconic sly smile appeared on his face as the audience burst into cheers. Among all the people on the rooftop rooftop, Doncic can experience this feeling best.

This moment once again confirmed that his choice was correct - to welcome new opportunities in new cities and new teams. On Saturday, on the first day after the Lakers were eligible for signing, he officially signed a three-year contract extension with the team.

At the signing ceremony, his name and Lakers logo were printed diagonally with his purple and black custom folders, and the screen behind him showed the slogan "New Starting Point" selected by the management team.

Reshaping the image has been an important goal of Doncic in the past week. Since being traded by the Mavericks to the Lakers in February, his reputation has been damaged and his career planning has been completely disrupted. His dream of living in Dallas was completely shattered by a phone call.

After the Lakers were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the first round, Doncic once admitted that he was "psychologically exhausted by what happened." But this time he returned to the United States to participate in the Jordan brand tour, he was no longer depressed at the time.

Its manager Lara Beth Seager revealed to The Athletic that Doncic has long removed the psychological burden of leaving Dallas.

"He has turned over. " Sieg said.

This year's offseason, Doncic completed an amazing body shape transformation - insisting on fasting for 16 hours a day and strictly implementing the diet and training plan. In the cover story of Men's Health magazine, which serves as the keynote of this trip, he revealed the solution in detail. Whether it was the interviews during the Yankees broadcast or the appearance on the Today Show, he talked about these changes. During the New York station, the Doncic team visited Cecconi 's and The Corner Store. Not only did he record the "Hot Ones" program, he also visited the Statue of Liberty. At Yankees Stadium, he met with Lakers' new boss Mark Walter for the first time, and even visited the NBA's New York headquarters, surpriseing the league staff. After a short stay in Chicago, Doncic switched to Los Angeles. What awaited him was the contract renewal that the Lakers had prepared long ago - this signing was without any suspense, and the Lakers had never worried about his intention to renew the contract.

"From the moment Doncic was traded to the Lakers, everyone understood that he was the future of the Lakers," Sieg said, "He longed to win the championship in this team. We are working together with the management, and the championship window will not wait. He never thought of wandering around, only the championship is pretending to be the champion. "

"His belief is to build great achievements wherever he is located and share the honor and disgrace with the team. As long as a contract contract is signed, it is like a marriage relationship. The marriage is sweet and bitter, but both parties always stay loyal to each other - this is Doncic's character. I'm sure he has never hesitated whether to renew the contract. "

Before 7 o'clock on the day of the signing, Doncic arrived at the training hall for more training. He didn't know at this time that Sieger and the Lakers management had secretly planned a surprise itinerary to go to Las Vegas MSG Sphere that night to watch the backstreet boys concert. And when he played the music training of this group throughout the whole process, it seemed to indicate that the team and the superstar were already in perfect harmony. After training, he met with the team members and then officially completed the signing. Doncic personally made the announcement on social media, while pledging to provide a total of $5 million in funding (including professional guidance) to 77 young athletes in need.

A few hours later, when the Lakers opened the door to celebrate the press conference, the reporters saw an elaborate wall of photos that recorded the important moments of Doncic from draft night, national team career to short Lakers years.

He continued to deepen his connection with Lakers fans - he had previously donated to the wildfire area and restored Kobe's murals. At Saturday's press conference, he deliberately gave his opening remarks to Lakers fans in Spanish.

"That's all," he quipped, "I won't speak English anymore. "

After the press conference, Doncic learned that he would go to watch the surprise arrangements for the boys' concert in the Backstreet. The peers not only had a group of relatives and friends, but also included management members and teammates such as Jenny Bass and Walter. President Bass, who has always been low-key, sat in the back row of the media seat this time and listened to his and general manager Pelinka's questions and answers about the contract.

That night, Bass appeared in Las Vegas with Walter, coach Redick and several teammates to celebrate Doncic's new chapter.

"He only has the future. Since he chose the Lakers, he is determined to attract top players to join, and he knows more clearly that the road to winning the championship begins with himself," Sieg said. "This offseason he proved: 'Whatever the outside world evaluates me - not a qualified leader, character flaw - I don't care at all. I will speak with my actions and let them know who I am. ' "

Whether you meet with Walter in New York or communicate with morning audiences through "Today's Show"; whether you sign sneakers at NBA stores, at Dyckman Park in Manhattan Park performed fancy shots, and gave a signature smile to the trash talk in Los Angeles - compared to the last trip to the United States, Doncic has now found his true self.

Since the Lakers were eliminated, he has strictly disciplined himself, quit sugary foods, and even stayed away from official basketball games. Late on Sunday night, he set off with the Slovenian national team to warm up for the 2025 European Basketball Championship that will start late this month.

This national team training game will be his first five-game game since the Lakers were eliminated. 5.

"I miss basketball," he said to Sieg on his way to the Carbone restaurant in Las Vegas.

From the tired and penetrating smile on Sunday's rooftop rooftop - the smile that still bright after intensive business tours and improvised Vegas celebrations - it's not difficult to see how eager he is to return to the court.

And in the next three years (perhaps longer), the court he calls "home" will always be frozen at the Los Angeles Lakers' home court.