While the preseason is the pilot test for the new-look Lakers, the roster saw the rare side of Luka Doncic this offseason. The Los Angeles Lakers players have been vocal about the new franchise cornerstone’s leadership since that Slovenian mini-camp. For newly added guard Jaden Hardy, it goes deeper. They were teammates in Dallas and spent over a year apart since that seismic February 2025 trade. Now reunited with Luka, Hardy has highlighted Doncic’s growth while also balancing the Lakers leadership with fatherhood.

Across multiple interviews, Hardy has revealed how Doncic has emerged as a leader since coming to LA. After playing against the Warriors on Tuesday night’s preseason matchup, where Luka was benched, he offered a look at the superstar guard’s character away from the court during a challenging period in his personal life.

Hardy described the playmaker as a grounded, devoted father who remains deeply committed to those around him.

“From my experience being with him, I feel like he’s goofy,” Hardy shared when speaking about Doncic’s personality off the floor. “He’s just a regular person, loves his family, loves his daughters. I feel like he’s just a good person overall, and somebody that you can look up to and appreciate.”

Tonight, Doncic was resting on the second night of the back-to-back along with Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, and Collin Sexton. Without superstar power, the Lakers lost to Stephen Curry and his small-ball squad 124-98. While it left fans concerned what it means for this team if Doncic is not on the floor, Hardy spoke about the man outside it.

Beyond praising Doncic’s character off the hardwood, Hardy pointed to the superstar’s ongoing evolution as the vocal and emotional leader of the Lakers. Having witnessed Doncic’s leadership style firsthand during their run to the 2024 NBA Finals in Dallas, Hardy noted that the 27-year-old centerpiece continues to raise his standard as a teammate.

“Luka’s always been a great leader ever since I’ve been with him,” Hardy stated. “I feel like he’s just taking another step with that, just trying to lead this group, have everybody on the same page and sticking to having a tight connection with everybody. For Luka, he’s always just himself. When he’s out there, he’s gonna tell you things and he’s gonna try to make you a better player.”

While he’s speaking about Luka’s presence in the locker room, these comments come in the backdrop of an intense personal legal battle where Doncic himself is fighting for more time with his daughters.

Luka Doncic’s teammate shows support through major changes

The last time Hardy was Doncic’s teammate, he was the dad of one girl, Gabriela, who was born in late 2023. Then Doncic was sent to LA in exchange for Anthony Davis in a trade no one could’ve predicted. In 2025, Doncic welcomed his second daughter, Olivia.

A few months later, he’d confirm his breakup with his fiancee, Anamaria Goltes. They have since been locked in a legal battle for custody across California and Slovenia.

In that time, the Wizards swapped Hardy for Deandre Ayton. His arrival in LA was right on time for the Slovenian mini-camp, which allowed Doncic to spend the summer with his daughters.

While he was thrilled to be back with his former teammate, Doncic was wrapping up the custody battle. He and Goltes settled their case for an amicable co-parenting relationship.

The Lakers guard, however, recently filed a Hague Convention petition under international law to bring his two daughters, Gabriela and Olivia, to the United States from Slovenia. Doncic addressed the emotional situation in a statement, emphasizing his primary focus on fatherhood.

“Nothing is more important to me than my daughters,” Doncic said. “I will do whatever it takes to make sure they have both parents present in their lives.”

The custody battle previously led Doncic to make the difficult decision to forgo playing for the Slovenian national team over the summer after failing to reach a resolution regarding visitation rights.

Right as he returned to the US for training camp, he made an emotional post dedicated to his daughters, writing, “G+O, no matter where in the world your Dad is, there is not a day you are not in my heart. Wherever I go, they are always with me. I love you both.”

Amid these personal challenges, Hardy, who averaged 12.6 points and shot 42% from the three-point range in 23 games with Washington late last season, has vocally elevated Doncic as a teammate and father.

The trade also reunited them with former Dallas player Quentin Grimes, reforming a backcourt core that previously thrived together in Dallas. Hardy recalled reaching out to Doncic immediately following the trade, noting that the Slovenian star welcomed him back warmly and expressed eagerness to get to work in the gym.

“Whenever I was playing alongside Luka, he used to always instill confidence into the young players, tell them to keep going, and I feel like that helped me a lot when I was a rookie,” Hardy recalled during an interview on the team’s official media channels. “Playing alongside him then in my second year where we went to the finals… he was big for me during that time and during that stretch. He was someone that I could lean on and talk to.”

Fully healthy after recovering from a hamstring injury that sidelined him late last season, Doncic enters Lakers training camp with no physical restrictions. As the Lakers prepare for the upcoming regular season opener against the Golden State Warriors, the bond between Doncic and his teammates serves as a crucial pillar for both his personal support network and the franchise’s championship aspirations.