After a surprisingly sturdy offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers, followers are little doubt longing for subsequent season to begin. Luckily for them, they’ve EuroBasket to observe.
Particularly Luka Dončić, who has been balling out for his residence nation. Him placing up huge offensive numbers is nearly a given at this level, however Doncic not too long ago confirmed off much-improved protection.
Luka with again to again blocks 😤
Doncic enjoying strong protection to date pic.twitter.com/xWJIhB1HrS
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) August 28, 2025
Doncic’s protection has been broadly criticized at occasions, particularly through the 2024 NBA Finals. That show finally led Dallas Mavericks GM Niko Harrison to commerce him to the Lakers.
His loss, and the Lakers’ achieve. Significantly with Doncic having slimmed down. Him dropping weight this summer season has apparently given him extra power to expend on protection, with a latest EuroBasket exhibiting making waves on-line.
An engaged Luka Doncic on protection is a game-changer for the Lakers
The Lakers have made a number of strikes this offseason to bolster their protection, including Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Marcus Good. Every of them may assist the Lakers subsequent season, however an engaged Doncic is also impactful on that finish.
Him being greater than a turnstile on protection and being energetic implies that groups cannot assault him. The previous adage “you are solely as sturdy as your weakest hyperlink” rings true for crew protection.
If Doncic had been no less than energetic on protection for the Lakers, it might elevate their ground, which might be within the 20s on that finish, and improve their ceiling. They in all probability do not have sufficient personnel to be a top-five protection, however top-10 is the best-case state of affairs and extra sensible if Doncic buys in.
A Doncic-led Los Angeles Lakers are sleeping giants within the West
Doncic might not be the most effective participant within the NBA, however he has the expertise to be the most effective participant within the NBA. Him being in the most effective enjoying form of his profession provides Lakers followers hope that he can lastly put all of it collectively and go from being a borderline MVP candidate to being a shoo-in for the award.
It is clear that is not LeBron James’ crew and can solely go so far as Doncic takes them. Throughout his final full season, again in 2023-24, he posted an outrageous 33.9 factors, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists, giving Lakers followers a baseline for a peak Doncic season.
Something near that or higher might be sufficient to ship him an MVP and thrust L.A. into title competition. Particularly if he’s near common on protection.
Finally, Doncic exhibiting off his protection in EuroBasket proves that he has untapped potential at that finish of the ground. His weight reduction ought to give him extra power to make use of on protection whereas hopefully additionally translating right into a profession yr on the Lakers subsequent season.
