Luka Doncic is not an elite defender. Anyone who watches the Los Angeles Lakers would be willing to admit that. However, the Slovenian superstar is far from the heinous liability that some punditry tried to paint him as last season. Getting the most out of Doncic as a defender largely comes down to personnel.
The Lakers finally nailed a crucial part of the foundation that was missing in 2025-26. They brought in an elite rim protector in Walker Kessler to protect the paint behind Doncic and the rest of the perimeter defenders in Los Angeles. That is a great start.
There is another element of the Lakers' offseason overhaul that should help Doncic be successful. There is a strong collection of active defenders on the team for 2026-27. Matisse Thybulle, Adou Thiero, and Quentin Grimes are just some of the players who can help keep Luka honest.
Effort has sometimes wavered for Doncic on the defensive end. Having players the role players around him to lift his competitiveness will provide a boost. Overall, even if still incomplete on the whole, the Lakers have much of what they need to get a solid season on the back end from Luka.
Lakers are building the framework for Luka Doncic to hold up defensively
To his credit, there are several things Doncic does well on defense. The Lakers superstar is effective at creating turnovers for his team. Luka averaged 1.6 steals per game in 2025-26. That was top 10 in the NBA.
His IQ shines on both ends of the court, too. It is not just the offensive side of the ball that gets to benefit from it. Doncic has smart positioning, good instincts, notable strength, and solid overall fundamentals.
Doncic is not necessarily built to stop the uber athletes of the NBA, but that is where Kessler's value as a rim protector comes in. It is also why it is ideal to have the perimeter defenders who let Luka guard some of the lesser options that rival teams have to offer. Adding an effective long-term starter at forward who can execute that is part of what the franchise is still working on.
The Dallas Mavericks showed how much that can matter during their 2024 run to the NBA Finals. Doncic played strong defense for much of that postseason. Having P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and company helped the cause.
As did the Mavericks giving Doncic more relief on offense. After posting a combined usage percentage of 39.8 over his first three playoff run with Dallas, Luka only registered 33.4 in 2024. That is acceptably low by his standards.
Those are the type of calculated measures that any team, the Lakers included, can take to help position someone like Doncic for defensive success. With that, a championship is certainly within the realm of possibility.
Look at the 2026 New York Knicks. They won a championship while working around Jalen Brunson's deficiencies on defense. That should give Los Angeles ample faith that giving Luka the right personnel is all that would be necessary.
Add us as a preferred source on Google