This offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers has been polarizing in every respect, and many of the early predictions are expecting the team to take a step back. This is the type of context that Lakers fans are going to be begging for the MVP voters to remember throughout the 2026-27 season.
ESPN has been on a roll, in particular. They said the Lakers are further from a championship after their retool. They projected Los Angeles as the sixth seed for next season. Hardly anyone picked them to come out of the West at all. The cherry on top of it all was just added to the mix, too.
ESPN's NBA insiders voted the Lakers as the most likely team to be disappointing and take a tumble in the upcoming campaign. They received 32 points, ahead of the Detroit Pistons (27) and the Golden State Warriors (26). The Miami Heat (22) and the Boston Celtics (17) rounded out the top five.
It sure sounds like the bar is low. That would also suggest that if the Lakers exceed these mediocre expectations, someone deserves praise for that overachieving. Right? If Luka Doncic has this team as a top-four seed again at the end of the season, everyone in Los Angeles will be begging to revisit the conversations that were had here.
Luka Doncic deserves the MVP credit if the Lakers overachieve
Teams get worse when LeBron James leaves them. That has been the historic trend during his NBA career. Perhaps that is why so many people at ESPN are expecting the Lakers to take a step back. However, those teams did not have Doncic at the helm.
A top-five player in the world and perennial All-NBA First Team member is nothing to scoff at as the foundation of your franchise. The supporting cast invites a lot of questions, given the significant makeover. Believing that Doncic cannot ultimately make things work with these guys is bold, though.
Luka is an excellent floor raiser for any group. That was on full display as early as his second season in the NBA. This roster has more than enough tools and skills to compliment Doncic. That and JJ Redick is also a pretty darn good coach.
It should still be clear that if the Lakers enjoy another 50-win campaign in 2026-27, Doncic will be the main driving force. The Slovenian superstar has flirted with the crown of being the best player in the world before, and he can make his case so much stronger by bringing success to this unit.
The tangible case for something definitive will be that NBA MVP race. Elevating your team beyond what they were thought capable of classifies as being valuable. Does it not? Hopefully for him, this is the season those semantics finally matter for Doncic.
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