There are those who will downplay Luka Doncic as an MVP candidate this season. That much is criminal but slightly more defensible than what you will hear today about where members of The Ringer believe the Los Angeles Lakers superstar belongs among the All-NBA Teams.
Surely, the best player on a playoff team in the Western Conference who is averaging close to 33-8-9 would have a spot on the All-NBA First Team all but locked up. That much was not the case for Zach Lowe and Howard Beck.
In defense of the host for The Zach Lowe Show, he did have Doncic on his first team. Lowe just did not consider him among the locks. Those spots belonged to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Victor Wembanyama. On the other hand, Beck was downright shameless.
Doncic was on the All-NBA Second Team for the latter. Both members of this podcast agreed on the three names above. So, who did Beck place above Luka? Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics. Those are certainly choices, decisions, and partly, atrocities.
Luka Doncic should have All-NBA First Team locked up — but apparently doesn't
The way Doncic's reputation has plummeted in some circles of NBA discourse needs to be studied. Despite leading the league in scoring, and posting some of the stronger statistical figures of his career, guys like Brown are passing him up in All-NBA discussions.
With all due respect to JB, who has enjoyed a strong season with the Celtics, the two are not in the same tier of NBA talents. Yet, somehow, Doncic is being placed below the Boston star.
Specifically with this example, Cunningham is more defensible. The Pistons star is leading the way for the best team in the Eastern Conference and performing well as the main man in Detroit. It's understandable. Brown isn't.
Doncic has largely made the most out of a flawed Lakers roster. Somehow, the narrative is being flipped on him being the leading cause in the issues, though. Luka's loudest critics love talking about defense and pretending that removing him would somehow be a straightforward solution to making Los Angeles a strong unit on that end.
Any of the talk about Brown being the catalyst behind the Celtics overachieving should be dead by now too. The former NBA champion is having a career year as the first option, but Boston has been far from incapable without him on the floor. Having Joe Mazzulla, the best coach in the NBA, certainly does not hurt in that department.
It's tough to know just how much the opinions of some have soured on the Lakers superstar. Hopefully a second-half surge can empower a much-needed PR boost.