Luka Doncic is still working to find his best form. His performance during Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena highlighted his ongoing struggles with his new team. He shot just 5-for-18 from the field and missed all but one of his three-point attempts in the surprising 100-97 loss to the Hornets, who are heading toward the lottery. After the game, Doncic spoke to the media and acknowledged that he’s still adjusting to his rhythm.

In his postgame interview, Doncic admitted that he’s still working on getting back to his peak performance.

“It’s obvious it’s going to take some time,” Doncic said, according to Spectrum SportsNet. “A lot of rust on my end. I started with four or five turnovers. That can’t happen,” the Slovenian star continued.

Doncic had five turnovers in the first quarter but only added one more through the rest of the game. However, it was clear that the 25-year-old guard wasn’t fully in his usual form, the one that earned him third place in the NBA MVP voting for the 2024-25 season. Before his trade to the Lakers, Doncic last played on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves and returned to action only on February 10 against the Utah Jazz.

In his first three games with the Lakers, Doncic has averaged 14.7 points on a subpar 35.6 percent shooting from the field, with 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He’s also averaged 4.0 turnovers during this stretch, in which the Lakers have gone 1-2.

For the Lakers to succeed in the 2024-25 season, Doncic needs to find his former self. It seems likely that his usual dominant form will return soon as the Lakers aim to end their current two-game losing streak.

In the Hornets game, the Lakers once again leaned on 40-year-old LeBron James to carry the team. James led the way with 26 points,