Luka Doncic loves to bully people (within the context of a basketball court).
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has thrived on taking defenders to the rim and using his strength, incredible body control, plus high basketball IQ to feast on easy shots. The has been the case for the majority of his career, but it just hasn't stayed true in 2025-26.
Don't be mistaken, Doncic is still making defenses pay when the attempts at the rim are there. The Lakers superstar point guard is hitting a mind-boggling 93.5 percent of his shots from 0-3 feet. The problem here is the volume at which those opportunities are coming.
Doncic is shooting the lowest percentage of attempts at the rim in a single season throughout his career. That comes by a fair margin too. Only 7.9 percent of his total shots are coming from 0-3 feet from the basket, supplanting 2024-25 (10.4 percent) as the lowest frequency of his career.
Is that really Doncic's fault? Not really, no. The problem here is the Lakers do not have the kind of supporting talent that is opening up proper driving lanes for the Slovenian superstar. Teams are not scared of Los Angeles shooting the basketball. They have no reason to be.
Lakers' shooting woes are clogging driving lanes for Doncic
The Lakers have not been a great 3-point shooting team, and everyone knows it. Los Angeles is shooting a mediocre 35.8 percent from beyond the arc in 2025-26. That has them ranking 17th overall in the NBA at present.
The Lakers only have two players who are shooting above 40 percent this season. Nick Smith Jr. is connecting at a ridiculous 48.3 percent. The guard on a two-way contract is not regularly featured in the lineup.
Rui Hachimura, who has been an absolute sniper from 3-point land at 46.2 percent, is the only permanent member of the rotation above that clip. There are only three other players shooting above the league average for the Lakers.
Sparingly-used Maxi Kleber is hitting 37.5 percent on 0.8 attempts per game. Gabe Vincent is connecting on 37.2 percent of his 3-point shot taken. Austin Reaves stands out as a high volume shot-maker, dropping 37.0 percent on 7.7 shots hoisted from deep.
The Lakers need more than that.
Surrounding Doncic with shooting has always been a key part of the formula to have a great offense with him leading the charge. The MVP candidate has been forced to settle for a ton of lackluster 3-point looks of his own, due to the poor spacing. Doncic is leading the NBA with 10.7 attempts per game from downtown, but only dropping 33.5 percent in the bottom of the basket.
Dec. 15 marks the date when teams really begin to trade during the season. That will be the Lakers' opportunity to go out and fix this clear issue that will keep holding them back until it is resolved.