With less than two weeks away before training, Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers received a bold prediction from an NBA champion.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Gil’s Arena podcast, Brendan Haywood shared his expectations for Doncic in the 2026-27 NBA season.
Haywood believes a healthy Luka could win the MVP, though it would also depend on how many games the Lakers can win next season.
“When Luka is healthy and Luka’s playing and he’s right, even when he was out of shape, he was carrying teams,” Haywood said. “Now that he’s definitely in the best shape, we know what it’s going to be. Luka is going to be First Team All-NBA. You can book it. That name’s going to be there.”
“He’s going to be in the MVP race,” he added. “The MVP will come down to how many wins the Lakers have. If the Lakers are a little bit higher up than we’re expecting, he going to get the MVP.”
Doncic has been a consistent MVP candidate over the past few years, but he has yet to take home the trophy.
The Lakers superstar will be up against some of the biggest names in the league, such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Iman Shumpert Not a Lakers Believer
Another guest on the new episode of the Gil’s Arena podcast was Iman Shumpert.
While Brendan Haywood expects Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers to be in the middle of the Western Conference standings next season, Shumpert has no faith in the purple and gold franchise.
However, Shumpert has faith in Doncic to carry the team to a possible play-in tournament spot.
“I think it’s going to be a play-in type situation,” Shumpert said via Fadeaway World.
I feel like they going to really be forcing it at the end — It’s going to be borderline, and it’s going to be borderline on some Luka got to pull a rabbit out of hat, and he needs somebody to lose over here.”
That’s a harsher prediction for the Lakers, though it’s pretty valid since they are coming off a massive roster overhaul.
Doncic did his part by hosting a minicamp in Slovenia last month in hopes of building chemistry ahead of the new season.
Lakers New Roster
The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most active teams of the offseason. They parted ways with multiple players, including LeBron James, and added 10 new players via trades, free agency and the draft.
Here is the Lakers’ current roster heading into training camp:
GUARDS: Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Cameron Carr, Jaden Hardy, Bronny James and Chris Manon
FORWARDS: Jake LaRavia, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvilli, Jarred Vanderbilt, Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, AK Okereke and Arthur Kaluma
CENTER: Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney
NBA Champion Makes Bold Luka Doncic Prediction for 2026-27 Season