{"id":549813,"date":"2026-03-20T21:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T21:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549813\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T21:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T21:24:11","slug":"lakers-luka-doncic-forces-ex-nba-star-to-admit-hes-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549813\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers&#8217; Luka Doncic Forces Ex-NBA Star to Admit He&#8217;s Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2251930997-e1765934930344.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Luka Doncic, Lakers\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers went big with his Christmas gifts to teammates and team staff. <\/p>\n<p>It must be tough to be a <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/luka-doncic\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Luka Doncic<\/a> critic these days.<\/p>\n<p>As the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" title=\"Los Angeles Lakers\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198643\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> are rolling through March, the superstar guard is putting together the type of stretch that might suddenly cause MVP voters to start thinking about changing their stance on Doncic.<\/p>\n<p>The former <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/\" title=\"NBA\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198741\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA<\/a> superstar <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/demarcus-cousins\/\" title=\"DeMarcus Cousins\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198740\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">DeMarcus Cousins<\/a> felt forced to change his mind about Luka, following the March 19 matchup between the Lakers and the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/miami-heat\/\" title=\"Miami Heat\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198646\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Miami Heat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the month, Cousins was convinced that Doncic shouldn\u2019t be in the First-Team All-NBA conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m gonna go second, just because of, you know, the team success. I can\u2019t put him over <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/cade-cunningham\/\" title=\"Cade Cunningham\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198739\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cade Cunningham<\/a>. I can\u2019t put him over <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/jaylen-brown\/\" title=\"Jaylen Brown\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198738\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jaylen Brown<\/a>. Obviously, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]. I\u2019m gonna go second team,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/nba\/los-angeles-lakers\/lakers-news-demarcus-cousins-luka-doncic-2nd-team-all-nba-prediction-fans\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cousins said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Cousins took to social media to admit he was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Luka Doncic Forces DeMarcus Cousins to Change Stance<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5844623\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-5844623\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Luka-Doncic-2.jpg\" alt=\"Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5844623\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyLuka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on prior to a game against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/denver-nuggets\/\" title=\"Denver Nuggets\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198644\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Denver Nuggets<\/a> at Crypto.com Arena on March 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>via <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/boogiecousins\/status\/2034833119279554621\" rel=\"nofollow\">DeMarcus Cousins<\/a>: \u201cYea I was wrong asf!! Luca 1st team without a doubt and also time to have some real convo about MVP this season cause sheeeessshh!! This version of the lakers is a scary team come playoffs!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And for the \u201cspelling bee champs\u201d that wanted to correct Cousins on social media for the wrong spelling, the NBA star sent them a message as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son name is Luca..simple mistake. For all the spelling bee champs!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Cousins\u2019 comments came after Luka checked in for 37 minutes against the Heat. Heading into the game, Doncic was listed as questionable. The Lakers were on the second night of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the exhaustion, Doncic still launched 30 shots from the field, making 60.0% of his attempts. He scored 60 points while coming down with seven rebounds and producing three steals. Defensively, Doncic collected five steals.<\/p>\n<p>On the first night of the back-to-back set, Doncic played for 37 minutes. He made 48.0% of his shots to score 40 points. It was a double-double outing with 10 assists, and could\u2019ve been a triple-double with one more rebound.<\/p>\n<p>With the Lakers winning back-to-back games, they extended their current winning streak to eight in a row.<\/p>\n<p>Luka Doncic\u2019s MVP Standing<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5837079\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-5837079\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2266946701_3f7025-e1773744492198.jpg\" alt=\"Luka Doncic, Lakers\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5837079\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers in action during the first quarter of the game against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/houston-rockets\/\" title=\"Houston Rockets\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198645\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Houston Rockets<\/a> at Toyota Center on March 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/kia-mvp-ladder-march-20-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA released its latest MVP ladder<\/a> on Friday morning. It was just in time to give Doncic a massive boost.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the Lakers\u2019 guard was No. 4 on the list. This time around, he\u2019s No. 2. The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/oklahoma-city-thunder\/\" title=\"Oklahoma City Thunder\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198642\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> guard, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/shai-gilgeous-alexander\/\" title=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"198737\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, is still at the top.<\/p>\n<p>As for the sportsbooks, Doncic is the second favorite, <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsbook.fanduel.com\/navigation\/nba?tab=awards\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">according to FanDuel<\/a>. His line is set at +1500, trailing Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/justingrasso32\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Justin Grasso<\/a> Justin Grasso is an NBA reporter, covering trending league news, transactions, injuries, and player developments. He is a credentialed journalist with nearly a decade of insider access.  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/justingrasso32\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Justin Grasso<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers went big with his Christmas gifts to teammates and team&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-549813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}