Luka Dončić will start training camp with no restrictions, six months after the hamstring strain that ended his season. Speaking at the Los Angeles Lakers' media day in El Segundo on Monday, he also set the target for the team's first season since LeBron James left for Philadelphia.

Dončić suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain against Oklahoma City on April 2. He missed the rest of the regular season and the whole postseason, and the Lakers were swept by the Thunder in the second round. On Monday he said the injury would not limit him, and that a summer without national-team duty had given him more rest than usual.

Asked what this team can achieve, he did not lower the bar.

Realistically, I would say championship. If that's not your goal, I don't know what you're doing here.

Luka Dončić, at Lakers media day

He added that he would like to win MVP one day, but that it would not happen unless the team was good. JJ Redick had framed the same ambition as a process at his preseason news conference on Thursday. "No one is a championship level team on September 29th," Redick said.

A different kind of leadership

Dončić said he felt honored to take on the bigger role. He called it a new challenge, and one he had faced many times in his career. Austin Reaves, who re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year deal in July, said he would not try to copy anyone.

"People lead in different ways," Reaves said. He does not intend to raise his voice at teammates and prefers one-on-one conversations. He said he would lead neither the way James did nor the way Dončić does.

Kessler and a new roster

The roster around the two of them has turned over almost completely. The biggest bet was Walker Kessler. Los Angeles sent Utah unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus swaps in 2028 and 2030, and signed him to a four-year, $130 million contract. He played five games last season before shoulder surgery, which made him one of the six questions going into media day.

Dončić said he had wanted Kessler in Los Angeles. He called him a rim protector whose offense has improved a lot. Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney and Matisse Thybulle also arrived over the summer, and Dončić said a lot of the new signings are underrated. Redick said on Thursday that two starting spots remain open.

What comes next

Training camp opens on Tuesday at the UCLA Health Training Center. The preseason starts on October 5 at Sacramento, and the regular season on October 21, when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena. Every key date of the 2026-27 season is here.