Luka Doncic is entering his second full campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers, and first with a brand new team built entirely around him. There are contrasting opinions about what this Lakers team can accomplish, but it only is relevant if Doncic continues to be an MVP-caliber talent like he has been for his entire career.
Doncic has been named to six All-NBA First Teams in eight seasons and has two scoring titles to his name. So it’s no surprise that many players consider Doncic the hardest player to guard in the league. Former NBA guard Patrick Beverley is one of those players, never figuring out Doncic despite his reputation as a defensive pest.
“He’s the only person in the NBA that I went home and was like ‘it’s nothing I can do.’ I can’t do nothing with him,” Beverley said on his and Fred VanVleet’s Unguarded Podcast. “(Hardest player) I’ve ever had to guard. And it wasn’t even moves. It was, he knew exactly what to do. I’m not gonna dribble in front of him. It ain’t muscle, people would think that.”
This is not an uncommon opinion, especially as Beverley breaks down why he’s so difficult to guard. It’s not that he has a deep bag of moves that he can pull out like Kyrie Irving, or can simply knock defenders out of the way the way a LeBron James or Giannis Antetokoumpo can.
Doncic wins battles against defenders by manipulating pace and speed, constantly giving himself the advantage and putting defenders on their heels while they figure out how he’s going to attack them. He’s among the best players in NBA history at doing that, and it’s why he’s maintained his dominance even as he’s gained and lost weight, switched teams or had injuries.
Beverley is not one to admit when a player has him beat. He was known for being a loud and proud talker during his career. But that shows just how incredible Doncic is.
Luka Doncic is 100% healthy
Doncic’s 2025-26 season came to an unceremonious end when he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain with about two weeks remaining in the regular season. He would not play again, missing the team’s first and second round playoff series and later revealing that he wasn’t all that close to returning.
He is now, according to a press release he posted, 100% healthy and ready to begin work on the 2026-27 NBA season with the Lakers.
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