Many people have considered Luka Doncic one of the three to five best players in the NBA over the last few years. It’s no wonder why, as he has career averages of 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game and possesses the third-highest regular-season scoring average and second-best playoff scoring average in league history.
Now that he has transformed his body this summer, his best basketball could be ahead of him, and that is a scary proposition for every NBA team not named the Los Angeles Lakers.
But in HoopsHype’s latest ranking of the league’s top point guards, Doncic came in second behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Following the disrespect of shockingly being traded by Dallas, the franchise that Doncic expected to spend his entire career with, it seems the Slovenian superstar has taken that to heart and used it to motivate him this offseason,” wrote Frank Urbina. “Considering that Doncic historically hasn’t always been the best about taking his summers seriously as far as his fitness level, that could be a great sign for the Los Angeles Lakers – and a scary one for the team’s opponents in 2025-26.
“An elite scorer, playmaker and rebounder for his position, Doncic is just lacking on the defensive side of the ball, but perhaps with his improved fitness level heading into the campaign, that might change, too. Regardless, Doncic remains on the path of first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and we expect him to get right back to 1st Team All-NBA-level play in 2025-26, which should put the Lakers in championship contender status.”
In a way, it does make sense that Gilgeous-Alexander earned the top spot in HoopsHype’s ranking. He just finished a campaign in which he led the NBA in scoring and earned the regular-season and finals MVP awards, not to mention his first championship.
But he isn’t the passer or rebounder that Doncic is, and he may not be quite as deadly as Doncic is in crunch time. Urbina did mention that HoopsHype could regret ranking the Lakers superstar at No. 2 by next summer, especially given that he is much leaner and fitter now.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Where HoopsHype ranked Luka Doncic among the NBA’s best point guards