As the Los Angeles Lakers‘ new cornerstone franchise player, Luka Doncic is looking to lead them to at least one NBA championship starting this coming season. After arriving in that shocking trade back in early February, he got into fantastic shape this summer, and the best basketball of his career may still be yet to come.
Playing with the Lakers has been an adjustment for the Slovenian superstar, as he’s playing alongside two other men in LeBron James and Austin Reaves who love to have the ball in their hands as well. His usage rate has been very high throughout his career, and he led the league in that category three times.
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Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen told Jorge Quiroga of Marca that he’s not confident Doncic’s way of operating can translate into a world championship for Los Angeles.
“I don’t know,” Pippen said. “His style of play got him to the finals. But I’m not sure if that style will get him there again. It was a unique feat, but when they got to the finals, they didn’t have much.”
Pippen was referring to the trip to the championship series Doncic took the Dallas Mavericks on in 2024. They had a dynamic duo in Doncic and star guard Kyrie Irving, but little else offensively, and that lack of balance did them in.
Against the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, Doncic was often corralled defensively, and his teammates couldn’t help him enough. He had 23 turnovers in five games during that series, and no one other than him and Irving averaged as many as 11 points a game.
Luckily, the Lakers seem to have more offensive talent than that 2023-24 Mavericks squad had. The question, however, is whether L.A. will have enough defense, especially on the perimeter, to put it in position to compete for all the marbles.
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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Scottie Pippen casts doubt on Luka Doncic’s ability to win NBA title