When the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world with the surprising trade for Luka Doncic before the NBA Trade Deadline, the prevailing thought was the franchise had found its superstar for the next decade. When LeBron James inevitably retires, Doncic would be the one to carry on the organization’s legacy. But that mantle comes with responsibility, and for Lakers legend Magic Johnson, that means a championship.

During a recent appearance on ESPN’s ‘Get Up,’ Magic Johnson let Luka Doncic know that the expectation for him is to lead the Lakers to a championship, the way James did during the 2019-20 season.

“Great job by Coach JJ Redick to put everybody on notice on the Lakers team that they have to be in better conditioning for them to win an NBA championship. And I’m glad that Luka listed to JJ,” Johnson said. “Luka, it’s great what you did in Dallas, but the difference is in Los Angeles, we expect championships. And we expect our superstars to lead us to a championship. LeBron has already did that, now we want Luka to do the same thing.”

The Lakers went 18-10 after acquiring Doncic, and they finished with the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference standings. However, the team’s season came to a disappointing end when they were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.

Following the trade, Doncic appeared in 28 games at a little over 35 minutes per game. He averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals with splits of 43.8 percent shooting from the field, 37.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 79.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

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Through the Lakers’ playoff series against the Wolves, Doncic averaged 30.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 45.2 percent shooting from the field, 34.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 89.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

During a post-season press conference, Lakers genera manager and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka addressed the team’s roster needs. At the same press conference, Redick addressed the need for better conditioning, which some took as being directed towards Doncic.

Over the past couple of weeks, images have surfaced of Doncic looking slimmer and seemingly in better shape than he appeared over the final months of the Lakers’ season. That was what Johnson was referring to when he said Doncic has heeded Redick’s words.

But winning championships is a two-way street. As good as Doncic is, and can be on the court, it’s up to the front office to build a roster that can truly contend for a championship. With the offseason on the horizon, the Lakers have their work cut out for them.