Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic reacts to teammate's concerns about his 'crazy' shot selection

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Oct 16, 2025 8:51 AM ET

It's hard to think of a player who has taken and made more "trick shots" in the 2020s than Luka Doncic. The Los Angeles Lakers star routinely attempts wild shots, sometimes even early into a shot clock, due to the green light he has from his coaching staff — and justifiably so.

That said, Doncic, at times, tends to go overboard in taking tough shots, especially the one-legged three with multiple defenders on him. Austin Reaves understands why Doncic has immense belief in his shotmaking, but he hopes his teammate will scale back a little.

Luka Doncic and his one-legged threes

After a Lakers preseason game this week, Reaves revealed details of a conversation he had with Doncic in practice.

"When you're that talented, you can make any pass, any read, any shot," Reaves said of Doncic, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "He shot this shot in practice the other day that was crazy. I told him it’s a blessing but every now and then it’s a curse to think you can make every shot."

Reaves added that Doncic, due to his otherworldly talents, can "get back into the flow of a game" by keeping things simple.

Austin Reaves on Luka Doncic’s one-legged 3s that he breaks out from time to time: “I told him, ‘It’s a blessing but every now and then it’s a curse to think you can make every shot’” pic.twitter.com/LlUbHyOeIb
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 15, 2025

Luka Doncic responds to criticism

The Slovenian star was asked to address Reaves' constructive criticism in his postgame news conference. The five-time All-Star admitted that he could be a little more thoughtful with his shot selection.

"At some point there's going to be heat checks for me, for sure," Doncic said. "...I'm just trying to balance that rhythm between getting a better shot or just some crazy shot. Obviously, I need to work on that. Sometimes those are too much, but [I'm] getting there."

Doncic, who has taken 20.7 shots per game in his seven-year career, could see his field-goal attempts skyrocket during the early part of the 2025-26 season due to LeBron James' injury. James is reportedly out of action at least until mid-November, per ESPN's Shams Charania. In James' absence, Doncic will carry most of the scoring and playmaking workload for JJ Redick's team.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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