The 2024-25 NBA regular season is officially over, making way for the NBA playoffs. The Western Conference matchups contain plenty of heavy hitters. One of the most anticipated series features the three-seed Lakers against the six-seed Timberwolves. This will be Luka Doncic’s first post-season wearing the purple and gold. NBA analyst Shannon Sharpe referred to Doncic’s postseason resume and declared the Lakers the West’s most complete team.
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This marks the first season since the Lakers 2020 title run that they are a top-six team in the West. Their last three playoff appearances came through the Play-In Tournament, including the past two seasons. Once Doncic settled in with the team following the trade, they looked exceptional.
Los Angeles holds the eighth-best record in the league since Luka made his debut at 19-13. ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe has been extremely vocal regarding his faith in the Lakers. He has gone viral for his “Lakers in 5” mantra. Now that they are in the playoffs, he is still supporting this team.
On ESPN’s First Take, Sharpe declare the Lakers’ prominence over the competition. He highlighted Doncic’s position in a certain scoring statistic behind only the legendary Michael Jordan as further proof.
“When you look at Luka Doncic, he has the second-highest scoring average in the postseason in NBA history,” Sharpe said. “He’s right behind a guy named Michael Jeffrey Jordan. If you’re asking me, it ain’t even close.”
Doncic’s playoff dominance is at a historic pace. Jordan leads the NBA in all-time playoff points per game at 33.4 points. Doncic is the only other player to also average 30 or more points, averaging 30.9 points across 50 playoff games.
Sharpe has full confidence Doncic will transfer that success to his first playoff run with the Lakers. Additionally, Doncic’s running mates are LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Due to the stellar play of Reaves, there will be games in which James is the third option. That possibility makes the Lakers the most dangerous team in Sharpe’s opinion.
This is unlike years in the past when the Lakers depended on James to be their best player. The 40-year-old can now take a step back and let a proven playoff riser in Doncic take the lead. The skill level and IQ of the duo gives the Lakers an insurmountable advantage against the majority of their competition.
Sharpe’s faith in the Lakers isn’t wavering and for good reason. Los Angeles’ first test will be against the Timberwolves. Game 1 will take place on April 19 at 8:30 PM ET.
