Originally published by LakersNation.com
Luka Doncic enjoyed one of the best statistical seasons of his career last year, winning his second career scoring title and being named to the All-NBA First Team for the sixth time in his career. Now coming into this season, Doncic is the unquestioned face of the Los Angeles Lakers and the expectations remain high after the front office re-shaped the roster around him.
Many are expecting an MVP-caliber season from Doncic and he is firmly in the discussion of best basketball players on the planet. And this year’s ESPN NBA Rank survey shows that with the Lakers star coming in at number 4 overall:
4. Luka Doncic
G | Los Angeles Lakers
Age: 27
2025 NBA Rank: 3Coming off his second scoring title in the past three years (33.48 points per game) and continuing to sport the revamped physique he committed to in the summer of 2025, Doncic is primed for another dominant season quarterbacking the Lakers. The 6-8 star’s fingerprints were all over L.A.’s roster construction over the offseason, as the front office heeded his desire for an “A-list center” by trading for Walker Kessler and opened up the team’s coffers to retain Doncic’s dynamic backcourt partner, Austin Reaves. Now 27, Doncic is entering what traditionally has been identified as the start of a player’s prime — although he is arguably already there, as evidenced by his six All-NBA selections since joining the NBA in 2018.
Big question for 2026-27: Can Doncic win with this group?
Through two postseasons with the Lakers, Doncic has been on the court for only one playoff win. That’s it. In 2025, L.A. was the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed and got upset by the sixth-seeded Timberwolves in five games. This past spring, the Lakers made it to the conference semifinals as the 4-seed, but Doncic was sidelined for both rounds because of a hamstring issue.
Doncic’s trips with the Dallas Mavericks to the West finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024 are starting to feel like distant history. And since his Finals loss to the Celtics in 2024, Doncic has been passed in career accomplishments by some of his contemporaries — with 28-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning back-to-back MVPs and an NBA title and former Doncic teammate Jalen Brunson, 30, leading the Knicks to their first championship in more than 50 years.
Is Doncic equipped to compete with the likes of Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder — the team that swept L.A. out of the second round without him — and Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs? — Dave McMenamin
The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are clearly the class of the Western Conference and any team success for the Lakers will have to go through them. And it will have to be Doncic leading and elevating this new-look squad and playing at his highest level to make that possible.
There were some good points made about players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson, both of whom were also in the 2018 NBA Draft, surpassing Doncic in terms of MVPs and NBA Championships. But that will only motivate Doncic further to accomplish those goals.
Luka Doncic ‘desperately’ wants to win championships with Lakers
Doncic has not been quiet about his desire to win multiple championships with the purple and gold and that was once again reiterated in an excerpt from “Lakers: An Official History of the Purple & Gold.”
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
Luka Doncic enjoyed one of the best statistical seasons of his career last year, winning his second career scoring title and being named to the All-NBA First Team for the sixth time in his career. Now coming into this season, Doncic is the unquestioned face of the Los Angeles Lakers and the expectations remain high after the front office re-shaped the roster around him.
Many are expecting an MVP-caliber season from Doncic and he is firmly in the discussion of best basketball players on the planet. And this year’s ESPN NBA Rank survey shows that with the Lakers star coming in at number 4 overall:
4. Luka Doncic
G | Los Angeles Lakers
Age: 27
2025 NBA Rank: 3Coming off his second scoring title in the past three years (33.48 points per game) and continuing to sport the revamped physique he committed to in the summer of 2025, Doncic is primed for another dominant season quarterbacking the Lakers. The 6-8 star’s fingerprints were all over L.A.’s roster construction over the offseason, as the front office heeded his desire for an “A-list center” by trading for Walker Kessler and opened up the team’s coffers to retain Doncic’s dynamic backcourt partner, Austin Reaves. Now 27, Doncic is entering what traditionally has been identified as the start of a player’s prime — although he is arguably already there, as evidenced by his six All-NBA selections since joining the NBA in 2018.
Big question for 2026-27: Can Doncic win with this group?
Through two postseasons with the Lakers, Doncic has been on the court for only one playoff win. That’s it. In 2025, L.A. was the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed and got upset by the sixth-seeded Timberwolves in five games. This past spring, the Lakers made it to the conference semifinals as the 4-seed, but Doncic was sidelined for both rounds because of a hamstring issue.
Doncic’s trips with the Dallas Mavericks to the West finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024 are starting to feel like distant history. And since his Finals loss to the Celtics in 2024, Doncic has been passed in career accomplishments by some of his contemporaries — with 28-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning back-to-back MVPs and an NBA title and former Doncic teammate Jalen Brunson, 30, leading the Knicks to their first championship in more than 50 years.
Is Doncic equipped to compete with the likes of Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder — the team that swept L.A. out of the second round without him — and Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs? — Dave McMenamin
The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are clearly the class of the Western Conference and any team success for the Lakers will have to go through them. And it will have to be Doncic leading and elevating this new-look squad and playing at his highest level to make that possible.
There were some good points made about players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson, both of whom were also in the 2018 NBA Draft, surpassing Doncic in terms of MVPs and NBA Championships. But that will only motivate Doncic further to accomplish those goals.
Luka Doncic ‘desperately’ wants to win championships with Lakers
Doncic has not been quiet about his desire to win multiple championships with the purple and gold and that was once again reiterated in an excerpt from “Lakers: An Official History of the Purple & Gold.”
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
