How Luka Dončić of the L.A. Lakers made himself the MVP of personal branding

As I walked into a Sunset Boulevard venue this past February, Luka Dončić’s face greeted me, flashing across a wall of old-school televisions. The TV screens flickered between a surreal reel of images: Dončić’s mug, a NTSC rainbow effect, a Valentine sweetheart candy image with the words “too small,” and a graphic with the words “Lil Luka’s Heartbreak Factory: Level 1.”

For the uninitiated, this scene probably makes no sense. But for superfans of Dončić, star player of the Los Angeles Lakers...