The Los Angeles Lakers believe they have their franchise player who will lead them to their next championship in Luka Doncic. Armed with salary cap space and draft picks, the organization has the means to properly build the roster around him this summer in hopes of getting the team to that championship level.
There are some people who question whether Doncic is indeed someone who could lead a team to an NBA Championship, pointing to defensive shortcomings and his propensity to complain at officials as reasons he isn’t the right choice. But former Lakers guard Derek Fisher is not among those who feels that way.
“The short answer is yes,” Fisher said during his show on 97.1 The Fan. “Congratulations to Luka on the All-NBA First Team. He slowly worked his way up the MVP conversation late. The post-All-Star break run he was on prior to the injury was, yeah, there was another level of basketball that he was playing. Not just the scoring, but I thought his defense was improving.
“He’s always been able to make his teammates better with some of the passes that he makes. His court mapping and spatial awareness in terms of where his teammates are, where the defense is, how to anticipate defensive rotations. It’s next level. He’s definitely the type of player that you can win with in terms of winning a championship. I think guys enjoy playing with him. You need a superstar that can elevate his teammates either through, like Michael [Jordan] did it through force. You had to get to Michael’s level. Kobe [Bryant] had some of that energy as well, but other guys, Magic [Johnson] did it differently…
“Luka has a lot of that energy about him. I think the Lakers will be able to get free agents and guys to come and play here with Luka and his style of play.”
Fisher makes multiple good points as, despite being perceived as a defensive liability, Doncic gave great effort on that end of the court this season. Also, as he noted, different players are able to lead in different ways with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Magic Johnson all having great success with different styles of leadership.
There are certainly things that Doncic can improve upon, particularly with his attitude on the court at times and drawing unnecessary technical fouls. But there is no questioning he has the ability to be the best player on a championship team and the Lakers have full belief in that as well.
Luka Doncic: Winning championship with Lakers is most important thing
And bringing a championship to the Lakers franchise remains the top priority for Doncic, even as he begins a venture as an owner of a European basketball team.
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