See more of our coverage in your search results.
Luka Dončić couldn’t help but chuckle after a reporter asked him an unexpected question Sunday evening.
Would you rather win the MVP Award or Defensive Player of the Year?
Dončić’s reputation is no secret.
Offensive savant.
Defensive pole.
But this season, the latter has increasingly felt like a misnomer, especially if you watched his brilliant two-way performance against the Raptors in the Lakers’ 131-125 win on Sunday.
Dončić finished with 45 points (12-for-23 from the field, 8-for-12 from 3), 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals, one blocked shot and three drawn charges.
Dončić is the first player with five steals and three drawn charges in the same game since player tracking began in 2013-2014, per ESPN.
Said Lakers coach JJ Redick: “He’s been awesome on defense.”
Added Walker Kessler: “Five steals and three charges. Incredible. You know, incredible. Luka doesn’t get enough credit for his defense.”
When Doncic was told about the high praise he received, he didn’t hesitate in his response.
“Oh, finally,” he said, cracking a smile.
Dončić, who intends on winning over LA basketball fans, has been on an absolute tear this season.
He’s leading the league in scoring with 37.7 points per game, the fifth-most points in NBA history through six games and the most since Michael Jordan in 1986-87. He’s averaging more points than any Laker player ever through six games, surpassing his record from last season (37).
But defensive praise?
That’s new. That’s exciting. That could change the equation.
“Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year I really took a step forward,” Doncic said. “Obviously people are going to talk what they want to talk [about] me. But I know and my team knows that I think I’m better this year. And that helps the whole team, I think.”
On Sunday, Doncic was sneaking behind players and knocking the ball out of their hands. He was deflecting passes in the lane. He was hammering the ball away from guys as they posted up against him in the paint. He was leaping into the air to deflect errant passes.
He was everywhere, doing everything.
Defense has long been considered Doncic’s weakness. When the Mavericks shockingly traded him to the Lakers in February 2025, his detractors unanimously pointed their finger at his production on the less glamorous side of the court. He’s still regularly dragged through the mud for it.
But the thing is, Doncic can play defense. And when he so chooses, it changes the Lakers’ ceiling.
Just look at what he did against the Jazz in his 52-point, eight-rebound, 10-assist and two-steal performance in the Lakers’ 132-123 win on Oct. 25.
With 3:55 left and the score knotted at 116-116, he took a charge from Keyonte George as the Jazz’s point guard drove into the paint. It sparked a 16-7 run for the Lakers.
On Sunday, Doncic repeatedly put himself in harm’s way.
“I think taking a charge in general is just a form of leadership, right?” Redick said. “You’re putting your body on the line for the team.”
Added Doncic: “Before last season, I don’t think I had maybe five charges in seven years, or six years. So, that gets everybody fired up. …I just wanted to get better at that and three charges is not bad for one game”
Doncic’s buy-in on the defensive end changes things for the Lakers. He should be leading the MVP race right now regardless of what he’s doing on defense. But the way he’s playing on both ends of the court muzzles his detractors.
Doncic doesn’t need to be great on defense. If he can be good, the Lakers can be great. And he can have a gold-paved path to the MVP Award while competing against two-way stars Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
We all know what he’s doing on offense is jaw-dropping, so much so that Redick waxed poetic while trying to put it into words.
“It feels like a supernova but it also feels normal,” he said. “We live on a spaceship and we’re going at the speed of light at all times when he’s on the court. When he has it going, you know, …it’s like pick your poison because he can just make any shot.”
As for defense?
Doncic has recently gone from being a punchline to being a threat.
And that could change everything.
