Luka Doncic did not arrive with the Los Angeles Lakers ready to trust everyone around him. His business manager says one member of the coaching staff helped change that by giving him something simple: a familiar face who kept showing up.
Lara Beth Seager explained how Lakers assistant Michael Wexler earned Doncic’s confidence after his departure from the Dallas Mavericks.
The relationship has become part of Doncic’s daily basketball preparation, with Wexler challenging him during workouts and taking plenty of verbal punishment in return. But Seager’s explanation goes beyond the jokes that fans might notice before a game.
“He’s loyal to the people who keep showing up and who are consistently there for him,” Seager said. “Wex was consistently there as the video coordinator. Wex was there to warm him up, and he let Luka be himself. And if he didn’t want to talk, Wex didn’t push him to talk.”
That last detail helps explain how the relationship developed. Wexler could work with Doncic without requiring him to immediately become comfortable in an unfamiliar setting. The trust came through their repeated interactions.
Why Luka Doncic needed time to trust his new surroundings
Seager told Dan Woike that the trade forced Doncic to reconsider whom he could rely on. Leaving Dallas meant more than changing teams; it also meant leaving the people and routines he had known throughout his NBA career.
Wexler was not the only coach involved in helping him settle in. Greg St. Jean, who had previously worked with Doncic in Dallas, recognized the importance of pairing him with someone who could challenge him while making the work enjoyable.
St. Jean saw Wexler as a potential fit. The goal was not to find someone who would simply agree with the star. It was to establish enough confidence in the relationship that coaching, accountability and difficult conversations could coexist with a sense of comfort.
The adjustment also resembles something Doncic and Austin Reaves have described about their own friendship.
As Lakers Daily previously covered, Reaves recalled initially passing Doncic in the locker room without knowing what to say. Doncic explained that speaking with unfamiliar teammates was difficult for him, and their friendship developed as they spent more time together.
Those accounts describe separate relationships, but both show that the easy banter associated with Doncic was not necessarily there from the beginning. It took time for teammates and coaches to get to know him.
Michael Wexler’s workouts give the Lakers more than entertainment
Wexler’s role comes with an unusual assignment: helping prepare Doncic for defenders whose size and athleticism he cannot personally duplicate.
Wexler takes on the task of simulating opponents such as Amen Thompson, Scottie Barnes and Jaden McDaniels. A foam stick helps him contest shots, while physical contact and competitive exchanges give Doncic resistance before he faces the real matchup.
The work is designed around the player. Doncic can joke with Wexler, challenge him and respond when the coach gives him a hard time. Wexler said that Doncic welcomes the competitive contact and returns it.
That helps put the playful moments into context. The drills still involve contested shots, post-ups and drives through contact, even when the two spend part of the session laughing at each other.
Wexler’s responsibilities also extend beyond Doncic. Woike reported that he works with Matisse Thybulle, who described needing direct, practical instruction.
The approach that gets Doncic engaged does not have to be the approach that works for another player. That distinction makes Wexler’s role more substantial than being a willing target for Doncic’s jokes.
He has to understand the basketball instruction and then deliver it in a way the individual player can use.
JJ Redick saw a fit before the Luka Doncic trade
Wexler’s relationship with Doncic was not the reason he originally joined the Lakers.
JJ Redick hired him as head video coordinator while assembling his first Los Angeles staff. Redick interviewed Wexler and did not interview another candidate for that position.
Wexler had already begun preparing for a coaching career during his time at Pepperdine. Coach Lorenzo Romar encouraged him to consider that path, and Wexler sought opportunities to learn film work and video editing rather than concentrating only on his own development as a player.
That background matters to his Lakers role. His connection with Doncic grew out of work he was already doing inside the organization, and Redick’s confidence in him preceded the arrival of the franchise’s new centerpiece.
The Lakers promoted Wexler to an assistant coaching position over the summer. Redick described developing a working relationship in which Wexler could anticipate what he needed.
The promotion and his work with Thybulle provide a broader picture of why the Lakers value him. Doncic is the most prominent example in Woike’s report, but Wexler also has to serve the head coach and adapt to other players.
Luka Doncic’s comfort shows up in the small moments
The friendship has produced its share of pranks. Woike described Doncic arranging for Wexler to receive a child’s Spider-Man bicycle with training wheels alongside the e-bikes he gave the Lakers for Christmas.
The anecdote illustrates the familiarity between them, but Seager’s description of Wexler’s consistency is the more revealing part of the story. The coach earned enough trust that the teasing became welcome.
Redick also emphasized the value of spending a demanding season with people who enjoy working together. For Doncic, those relationships are now part of the routine that surrounds his preparation.
Seager offered a concise assessment of Wexler’s place in that group.
“Luka keeps his circle small and trusts him, and I think that that’s a huge testament to Wex,” Seager said.
