The Los Angeles Lakers have title contention hopes behind the leadership of Luka Doncic. A polarizing offseason led to many pundits having strong opinions about the Lakers and how they fit into NBA Championship rankings. Doncic has strong confidence in this season’s team, but he also recently expressed regret over how last season ended.
A blunt comment saw Luka revealing he felt he let the Lakers down by getting injured:
“My thought was just to get fully healthy,” said Doncic. “I had the whole summer for that, and I feel great. I thought we had a team that could compete for a championship, so it was kind of disappointing, kind of let the team down, so it’s definitely motivating for this season.”
Last season saw the Lakers getting hot in the second half of the season. The trio of Luka, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves all on the court together showed outside chances of title contention. Doncic got injured right before the postseason and could not suit up in either series.
The Lakers were able to get past the Houston Rockets thanks to LeBron leading the way. However, a second-round elimination came at the hands of the top seed Oklahoma City Thunder. Luka believes he could have helped the Lakers have a shot, but his injury saw them getting swept by OKC.
Could Luka Doncic Have Helped Lakers Vs Thunder?
The overall point of Doncic is that he feels regret over the Lakers losing their best chance at contending for a title. Oklahoma City was the decisively better team all season behind two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
A deeper roster for the Thunder saw the Lakers tandem of James and Reaving having no chance of the upset. Luka did lead the Dallas Mavericks past Oklahoma City in the 2024 postseason just two years before this series.
Doncic having a dominant series could have helped the Lakers, but it would have still been a far outside chance. The comment of Luka was more expressing his displeasure over missing the series and wondering what could have been. A deeper playoff run for the Lakers would have been an all-time underdog playoff story.
Luka Doncic Can Validate Comments This Year
Doncic has made it clear that he believes in the Lakers and their chances of achieving greatness. The new roster sees Reaves back as his co-star, and new talents like Walker Kessler needed to step up behind Luka.
However, the situation remains the same with the Lakers viewed a full tier or more behind Oklahoma City and the San Antonio Spurs. Doncic will have the opportunity to prove he can lead a less talented roster against these dominant Western Conference favorites.
Other teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets are also considered above the Lakers in early preseason forecasting. Luka will need another elite season in MVP contention for the Lakers to make up this gap. Last season’s confidence must return all season for Doncic and the Lakers to have a chance at the NBA Finals.
Luka Doncic Reveals How He Let Down Lakers Last Season