Luka Doncic Focused On Improving Defensively

The narrative surrounding Luka Doncic has always been the same. He’s a generational offensive talent that doesn’t have the stamina, or care, to be a net positive defensive player. That narrative wasn’t helped by his performance in the 2024 NBA Finals, when his defense really struggled against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But the Los Angeles Lakers star is looking to change that narrative.

Doncic was electric on Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors, finishing with 45 points and six assists in an offensive performance that has somehow become routine for him. But his defense is what stood out, as he tallied 15 rebounds and five steals, took three charges and was a plus-27 in a six-point win. After the game, he responded to the ongoing narrative surrounding his defense and what he thinks about it.

“Why? I don’t know,” Doncic said when asked why his defensive reputation hasn’t changed. “Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA. But I think this year I’m really taking a step forward. You know, obviously people are going to talk what they want to talk. The media is going to talk, what they want to talk, but I know, and my team knows, that I think I’m better this year and that helps the whole team, I think.”

The charges were what Doncic was particularly proud of, as he loves what that brings to his team even if it doesn’t get marked in the box score.

“Yeah, I mean, even last season, before last season, I had like maybe five charges in seven years or six years. So, you know, that gets everybody fired up,” he said. “It’s going to show in statistics, but not much. So, it gets the whole team fired up. I just wanted to get better at that, and two charges is not bad for one game.”

Doncic is known as someone who hears the outside noise and uses it as fuel. But he recognizes that, at this stage, it’s going to be difficult to reverse the narrative on his defense.

“Look, people are gonna talk bad no matter what,” Doncic said. “So I’m just trying to focus on me and my team, what I can give to the team better. But like I said before, I think that I’ve made a huge step forward on both ends. So just gotta keep going like that.”

The Lakers star has looked every bit the part of an MVP so far this season. He is averaging a ridiculous 37.7 points per game to go along with 8.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals. And it seems he is extra motivated to show who he can be on the defensive end, as well.

Walker Kessler praises Luka Doncic for defense

Doncic did get some credit for his defense on Sunday night, and it came from his defensive stalwart center, Walker Kessler. The big man spoke about what he saw from his superstar.

“Was it five steals and three charges? Yeah, incredible,” Kessler said. “Incredible. Luka doesn’t get enough credit for his defense. He’s a very high IQ individual, when it comes to being on the court. So, his, positional defense, just being in the right spot at the right time is really good, and it showed tonight.”