Luka Doncic: Can it be the leader of the Lakers of the future?
After renewing a contract with the Luka Doncic he faces a new season as the franchise leader.
Luka Doncic is the present and future of Lakersnow your Lakers.
After renewing a contract with the, Doncic faces a new season with some colleagues who adapt more to their style of play.
What challenges do Doncic with the Lakers? AM850 experts help us find the answers.
1- What defensive version will we see from Luka Doncic?
Marcelo Bousquet: While the trend throughout his career is that Luka has wasted, year after year, the opportunity to improve his defensive skills, I am inclined to think that this time, with the change of equipment and with the Lakers willing to keep him as his flag bearer, he will take the opportunity to add virtues to his game.
The improvement in defensive matters happens, more than anything, due to a matter of will and fundamentals. Therefore, taking into account that the Lakers have given him the key to the kingdom, the first step to give them kindness would be that Luka undertakes to defend better.
Becoming the improved defensive version that helps the team is, for the moment, more an expression of desire than a concrete possibility. But seeing how you have managed to improve your physical condition, you can bet on the transformation of Luka’s game including your decision to defend better. But for it to concrete, it depends on your own will.
Victor O. López: I would like to think that we will see an improved version, its best version at 26 years of age, now that it has the keys to one of the largest glamor franchises of all sports. Luka would not need more motivation than to work on that side of the court with a view to his defense approaching (even a bit) at the level of his game with the ball in hand.
However, if I were going to bet, I would say not so fast. We have seen improvements before, but not at a substantial and constant level. It is not the first time that the subject is touched, and with everything and we continue to argue. At some point we should accept that Luka will never be a good defensive player or one that is considered a risk, something that could have implications when putting together a team around him.
Dallas bet that Luka would never commit to work on his weaknesses; The Lakers are committed to what will. We’ll see.
2- What will be the best Luka Doncic version?
Bousquet: The one that looks more like what we saw in the 2023/24 season with Dallas Mavericks When he reached the finals of the NBA. And if possible, that improves that image. Although at that time he showed leadership skills, he also showed negative trends such as his constant complaints against the referees and the intolerance to the mistakes of his classmates.
To show their best version, they must emerge signs of maturity that put it at the height of the great stars that the franchise knew how to have. To the smile and creativity of Magic Johnsonwho already has them, should add the combative spirit of Kobe Bryantthe determination of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to play both sides of the court and the resilience of Jerry West pTo try to win a ring. As you can see, you do not miss mirrors where you look, or examples to follow.
3- What will be the worst Luka Doncic version?
López: The one we have seen before when he complains during the games, when he pulls the ball too much or when he opts for only playing on one side of the court. It is not necessarily the norm in Donc’s career, for something it is a global superstar, but it did look out enough during its first seven seasons in the NBA to question it.
Luka took a leap in quality during the postseason 2023-24 in which he took the Mavericks to the finals of the NBA and the hope of the Lakers is that this level rise is maintained, taking aside the roller coaster of emotions that was last season. Until now, between its improved physical condition and attitude outside the court, everything seems to indicate that we will have a 100 and improved Luka for the season. But the season is long and between the ups and downs of the campaign, ‘Bad Luka’ could appear his head and let himself feel. It would be a massive disappointment for the Lakers and their followers.
4- A Luka Doncic number en Route to the next season …
Hiram Martínez: 104 (or 230). The weight reported by Luka Doncic after lowering 18 kilos (39 pounds) during the summer. It is a good sign that the young and talented Slovenian forward has accepted the challenge that entails being the leader of the most celebrated franchise in the NBA. During the last stage of his stay in Dallas, Doncic came to report a weight of 122 kilos (269 pounds) that was associated with all the worst of his game: from his defensive passivity to the injuries that limited him to 50 games, the lowest amount of his career.
The ‘new’ Doncic was inspired by the preseason work of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan And not only undergoing a two -month physical conditioning program in Croatia, but has also followed a gluten -free and low sugar diet.
How much of that ‘sacrifice’ will be reflected in your game and your health during the long season? Until I step on a court in training and beyond that, until the regular campaign begins, Doncic will not be able to prove how effective that work will be. But if you want to take the Eurobasket 2025 numbers as a signal, here are those of the first round: 32.4 points. 8 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 3.4 robberies (average 1.2 of race) in 33.4 minutes per game.
5- Can Luka Doncic load Lakers to the promised land?
López: The answer may differ according to the period of time granted to achieve it. In the medium and long term, the answer can be a forceful yes. But if we talk about the immediate future, the balance should be bowed next to no.
In a west loaded with talented equipment, the way to reach the finals does not seem easy to overcome for the Lakers. OKC, Houston, Denver and Dallas himself if it is healthy, are equipment that can be considered superior. But the situation can change when they have salary space to surround it with talent. Luka demonstrated this summer to be good recruiting in free agency. If we add your skills within the court, everything is possible.
