Few players in the NBA are as prolific as Luka Doncic at creating dribble penetration. He's ranked in the top 10 in the Association in drives per game in every qualified season since 2018-19, and has an uncanny ability to finish in traffic despite lacking the explosiveness of many of his predecessors.
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers have put Doncic in a position that will require him to shoulder an unsustainable burden as far as creating offense via drives is concerned in 2025-26.
For as brilliant as Doncic is individually, the Lakers are equally as limited as a team around him. Los Angeles finished the 2024-25 regular season ranked 23rd in points via drives, 24th in assists via drives, and 27th in total drives to the basket.
All three of those rankings reveal a widespread issue that plagued the purple and gold whenever the chips were down: No one beyond the stars has been able to generate consistent penetration.
A full offseason and regular season with Doncic in the fold should help the Lakers improve their averages and rankings. He did, of course, join the franchise in February, playing just 28 games before the postseason rolled around.
If Los Angeles is going to exorcise its postseason demons, however, then it must find a way to help alleviate the driving burden from Doncic.
Luka Doncic is elite on drives, but Lakers struggle to generate them
Across his 28 games with the Lakers, Doncic averaged a stunning 17.2 drives per game. LeBron James offered strong support with 10.6, while Austin Reaves added 10.2. Unfortunately, the production beyond the team's three-headed playmaking monster was wildly insufficient.
The next three-leading players on the Lakers in drives per game were D'Angelo Russell at 5.2, Anthony Davis at 5.1, and Max Christie at 2.9—none of whom finished the season in Los Angeles.
Beyond the aforementioned group, Shake Milton was the team leader at 2.7 drives in just 11.5 minutes per game—coming out to mark of 8.3 per 36 minutes. Unfortunately, there have yet to be signs to imply that Milton's playing time will increase in 2025-26.
After Milton, Rui Hachimura and his 2.5 drives per game round a lopsided core of shot creators and dribble-penetrators into form.
One player who could help Los Angeles in that area is Gabe Vincent. Vincent averaged at least 5.0 drives per game in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 with the Miami Heat, but checked in at a mere 2.0 during the 2024-25 campaign with the Lakers.
Empowering Vincent to balance his catch-and-shoot proficiency with a more consistent effort to drive the lane could enable JJ Redick to unlock a more balanced offense.
It's also worth wondering if Dalton Knecht's shot creation can translate more consistently from college to the NBA. He's already a lights-out shooter, but during his decorated collegiate career, he regularly attacked the basket and finished in traffic.
If the answers aren't found internally, then the Lakers will need to find an external source of improvement to avoid overburdening Doncic in 2025-26.