teammate

The bromance between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remains strong and it’s a bond the Lakers will lean on with LeBron James no longer on the team.

After eight years of James being the Lakers’ leader, the role now will be shared by Doncic and Reaves.

Doncic already took a step in that direction when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia in August for a bonding trip.

Reaves chided Doncic about losing in rowing, bowling and golf while they were in Slovenia together.

Reminded about it Monday at the Lakers’ media day, Doncic immediately retorted: “I beat him in golf two days ago. … He didn’t say that, huh?”

Doncic paused and smiled.

“The key was I was playing great golf,” Doncic said. “He gave me some strokes, I’m not going to lie — as he should.”

Reaves spoke about the events his group won in Slovenia and how they beat Doncic in the process.

“We won the rowing, we won the golf, we won bowling,” Reaves said. “Luka tried to put on a blue shirt when his rowing team lost, which is crazy. But he did host us, so we let him hold the first-place trophy for once.”

The two friends and teammates have developed a closeness that their teammates have noticed.

“They get along so well that it’s kind of easy for them to co-lead this team — in different ways sometimes,” Jake LaRavia said. “I think sometimes Luka leads by example and we watch him and we watch how he goes about himself. AR can sometimes be a bit more vocal. But I think they both do a great job at what they are good at it when it comes to being leaders for this team.”

Lakers guard Luka Doncic speaks during the team’s media day in El Segundo on Monday.

(Eric Thaye r/ Los Angeles Times)

Doncic led the NBA in scoring last season (33.5 points per game) and was third in assists (8.3). He averaged 7.7 rebounds and shot 47.6%, including 36.6% from three-point range.

The three-year, $165-million contract extension Doncic signed last year kicked in this season.

“Obviously, it’s a new challenge,” he said about his leadership role. “I was in this position in my career a lot of times, so it’s not new to me. But I feel great, I feel excited, and like I said, I’m ready to go. It’s been a long time since I played basketball, so I’m ready.”

Reaves is entering his sixth season with the Lakers, making him the longest-tenured player on the team. In June, he signed a four-year, $180-million deal, the largest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history.

Reaves earned it by averaging career-highs in points (23.2) and rebounds (4.7).

The Lakers have nine new players and Reaves knows he’ll need to provide guidance.

“I think it’s different for everybody,” Reaves said. “I’m not going to lead the same way Bron does. I’m not going to lead the same way Luka does. I like to do things a little different. I was talking about doing more one-on-one conversations. There will be times where I need to speak up in group settings and I’ll do that when the time comes. But I think you just got to be true to yourself and do what’s comfortable for you.”

Doncic played in just 64 games last season. He missed the last five regular-season games and all of the playoffs with a left hamstring strain. After spending time in Europe rehabbing his hamstring over the summer, Doncic said he’s healthy and ready to go with no restrictions when the Lakers begin training camp Tuesday.

“I know I had a lot of time, just taking it slowly, not taking no risks,” Doncic said. “But right now, I’m feeling great. I feel rested. Mentally I feel great, so I can’t wait just to start.”

With Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams among the newcomers on the Lakers, Doncic and Reaves are looking forward to what comes next.

“I like everybody that we signed,” Doncic said. “I think there’s a lot of underrated guys. … Now training camp is going to help us a lot, focus on basketball, get to know what they like on the court, but I’m very excited to play with all of them.”

If El Camino Real’s boys’ soccer team wins its third consecutive City Section championship this season, then Cal State Northridge soccer fans should be feeling good because three of the team’s players are taking their talents to CSUN.

Jayden De La Cruz, Diego Apolinar and Roman Holiday are teammates at El Camino Real, play on the same club team and also will be college teammates next year.

Holiday is the goal scorer, with De La Cruz and Apolinar serving as the playmakers to get him in position to score.

The Royals will be this year’s City title favorite, but rival Birmingham is lurking, and the two teams are scheduled to open West Valley League play on Jan. 6 at El Camino Real.

When asked if the team was ready to face Birmingham, Holiday suddenly got excited.

“Oh my God, yes,” he said.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Taking your peers into battle every week requires leadership that inspires respect and admiration. Orange Lutheran High’s star offensive lineman Lucas Rhoa has figured out the perfect formula to achieve that.

The senior Texas commit is easily noticeable before, during and after a game. He leads the team in warmups, conducting their every move. If he jumps up, so does every other player. If he waves his arms this way and that, you bet his teammates follow.

It’s the perfect hype up to get Orange Lutheran in the mood to win.

Rhoa has earned that respect partly because he reminds opponents on a weekly basis that they need to hit the weight room. Sometimes Orange Lutheran will put Rhoa in motion after the snap, blocking multiple players to create a hole for the run game. On passing plays he’ll face off one on one against the outside defensive lineman, and he stops them in their tracks.

During the game, if he isn’t on the field, Rhoa can be seen giving encouragement to every player. In a recent win against Chandler (Ariz.) Basha there were two moments that exemplified this.

First, when Orange Lutheran’s punter pinned Basha inside its own three-yard line, Rhoa was the first to come off the sidelines and get excited for his teammate. On the flip side, when a teammate’s holding penalty negated a 20-yard run, the big man was sympathetic. Rhoa gave a head pat and some words of encouragement and ran back to the line for the next play.

“There’s no room to get caught up on anything,” Rhoa said. “If you’re getting caught up on a play then you’re three steps behind. You just gotta forget.”

To Rhoa, his star quality and mentality are non-negotiables of the job. His offensive line coach, Chris Ward, is less humble when talking about his best player.

“He’s been extremely dominant individually and he’s really grown as a leader,” Ward said. “We have some young guys in there, it’s their first time playing varsity football. He’s kept his composure and really let those guys grow.”

Rhoa has shown his skill level and leadership against a bevy of highly ranked opponents so far this season, but his toughest task may come against a player who has seen his best traits firsthand.

Orange Lutheran, which is 3-1 after shutting out Gardena Serra 35-0, is next playing Sierra Canyon, where former teammate and senior defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou now plies his trade.

Sierra Canyon has started the season 3-0, with a big 41-21 opening-weekend win against JSerra, which has won three straight since. Rhoa spoke on the potential matchup against Fakatou.

“I’ve seen him the most out of anybody,” Rhoa said. “We used to go against each other every day at practice. But it’s just another game for me.”

Fakatou is committed to Ohio State and, given its recent rivalry with Texas, this isn’t likely to be the last time he and Rhoa meet.

Fakatou is listed at 6 feet 7, 285 pounds while Rhoa is 6-5, 295. When they hit each other, the collision might create the force of an atomic bomb or at least a high speed car crash.

Richard Wesley and Trey Brown of Sierra Canyon combine for one of seven sacks against Orange Lutheran last season, when the Trailblazers won 41-9.

(Craig Weston)

The key to victory for either Orange Lutheran or Sierra Canyon may come down to this matchup. There could be more joy for Fakatou lining up against the other side of the offensive line, but Rhoa is as mobile as they come and will certainly try to find a way to put his former teammate on the ground.

Ward said that both players are likely to make great plays, and that his offensive line can’t be frustrated if Fakatou hits somebody for a loss. Like Rhoa said, they have to move on to the next play right when the whistle blows. “There’s never a thought of ‘oh, I got beat!’ It’s out of the mind,” he said. Head coach Ray Fenton said that his team goes as Rhoa does, and that his leadership will be the key to a great season beyond just the Sierra Canyon matchup.

“One of the best [leaders] I’ve been around in my many years of coaching,” he said. “He says it with his words but most importantly he says it with his own actions …It makes life easier as a coach.

The Times has Sierra Canyon ranked as the fourth best team in the Southern Section and Orange Lutheran ranked as No. 5. But Rhoa doesn’t care who lines up across from him, the goal is always the same: to dominate.

“At the end of the day [the opponents] are just humans,” Rhoa said. “However many stars they have, it’s just football.”