The NBA has become more offense-oriented over the last decade or so, and Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is one of the many superstars who have benefited from it. Offensively, there isn’t a single flaw in Doncic’s game. His defense? Well…
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Of course, when the Lakers pulled the trigger to land Doncic, they didn’t expect him to be a defensive stopper. However, it’s also unacceptable to be nonexistent on defense. Individually, Doncic hasn’t elevated his defensive play as the team hoped he would ahead of the season. Opponents’ field goal percentage at the rim is 1.8% higher with the guard on the court.
In some cases, defensive flaws in players might be due to a lack of physical tools for the job. Doncic doesn’t have that excuse to fall back on. Then where is the Slovenian faltering? In an exclusive interview with The SportsRush‘s Nickeem Khan, Rashad McCants revealed that most of Doncic’s defensive woes boil down to effort.
“If you can give me 100% effort on offense, and you only give me 20% effort on defense, I do not want to, one, watch you. I don’t want to play with you,” McCants proclaimed.
“There’s nothing that I can do to look at you that is gonna give me a good feeling. The same way you give me [100%] on offense, you can do it on defense. You just choose not to,” he added.
Yes, there have been plenty of instances in which Doncic refused to return to defense, and instead was seen arguing with the officials. There have even been moments when the Lakers get the ball back, and Doncic’s attention quickly shifts to scoring. That simply is not acceptable, especially from someone who is the face of the franchise.
What makes Doncic’s defensive effort so confusing is that we have seen him lock in during the Dallas Mavericks’ 2024 NBA Finals run. He held his own on that side of the ball, and it directly impacted the team’s success. Of course, effort shouldn’t only come in the midst of success.
“The biggest thing is effort comes from [the] heart,” McCants proclaimed. “Heart comes from the will and the determination, and the discipline to go out there and show you that I’ll work harder than you.”
Talent can only take a player and a team so far. If Doncic and the Lakers have any serious hopes of building a championship contender in Los Angeles, the journey requires the team’s leader to take greater pride in working harder than everyone else on the court.
Doncic was quite dreadful in the 2025 NBA playoffs. The Lakers also had a first-round exit. Subsequently, ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Slovenian prioritized his conditioning to ensure he was in the best shape of his career. The idea was that this new and improved version of himself would allow him to thrive on both ends of the court.
However, that hasn’t been the case so far. With the playoffs nearing, Lakers fans would be hoping that he steps up, and more importantly, steps up on both ends of the court, and not just in scoring.
