Can you build a title-level defense around Luka Dončić?It’s been debated for years. I went deep:✅chronological breakdown of 7 yrs of team building✅lineup trends✅player archetypesThere is a clear blueprint for the Lakers and their offseason👇https://t.co/byySvpJKFO pic.twitter.com/g5bi0f2R1z— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) June 11, 2025
FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:
Seven seasons, endless combinations of teammates and lineups. What do they teach us about building a defense around Luka?
The Lakers’ season and Luka Dončić’s first run in Los Angeles ended with a quick and disappointing first-round exit. Following most of his team’s past failures, Dončić becomes the main talking point. In these moments, two familiar concerns return to the spotlight: conditioning and defense. Just like after the Mavericks’ Finals loss to the Celtics, both were again at the center of the conversation following the Lakers’ defeat against the Timberwolves.
Defense wins championships was the mantra Nico Harrison used to justify moving on from Dončić, and the loudest voices were quick to use his first playoff defeat as a Laker to argue Harrison was right. One of the best defenders in league history, and one of your writer’s favorite players, Gary Payton, questioned Dončić’s will to defend. Robert Horry, seven-time NBA champion and Lakers analyst, echoed the same concerns.
There is no doubt that some, or on some occasions even a lot, of the criticism is valid. After the Wolves loss, I wrote that Dončić had a rough series defensively. But like most aspects of his game, the conversation around Luka’s defense is polarizing. The things he does well and the things he struggles with are both so visible, and often magnified. Too often, they are also discussed in a vacuum, without considering the full context. In this series, that meant playing 42 minutes a night, carrying the burden of scoring 30-plus points, while trying to stay in front of one of the league’s most explosive guards in a switch-everything scheme without any rim protection behind him.
Context aside, whether the Lakers can build a competent defense that is good enough to contend for a title around Dončić will be one of the main questions heading into next season, and for the rest of his tenure in Los Angeles. As someone who has followed his career since his Madrid days and watched the answer evolve from “no chance” to “top-10 defense all of a sudden” during his six and a half seasons in Dallas, I can say there is now a large sample of evidence showing what works and what doesn’t. In this deep dive, I’ll try to highlight that evolution chronologically, along with some key takeaways that should shape how the Lakers approach this offseason and the future roster around Dončić.
Today’s highlights:
1. Let’s talk talent. Defensive talent.
2. Chronological look at past Dončić’s teams: what did we learn?
3. Signs of Dončić’s growth on defense?
4. Next step for Dončić and the Lakers