Luka Doncic is expected to take the MVP leap this year in his first full year with the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, the NBA world is still reeling from Doncic's bombshell trade at the deadline when the Dallas Mavericks sent him to the Purple and Gold in return for Anthony Davis.
With a change in scenery and more time together with LeBron James, the Slovenian star has his work cut out to further add to his blossoming career. In fact, he has already kickstarted his revenge year with Slovenia at this year's EuroBasket. Here is a look at six milestones Luka Doncic needs to achieve to cement his legacy.
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Reach 30K points
Luka Doncic is one of the best scorers in the NBA. In fact, he was crowned the league's scoring champion during the 2023-24 season. Furthermore, it's worth noting that he's the fastest player to score 12,000 points in his NBA career since Michael Jordan. Luka only needed 419 games to cross the mark. As a result, Doncic is on track to possibly score at least 30,000 points in his career.
Joining the 30K points club is a great way to cement Luka's Hall of Fame status. In fact, all players in the club are either already inducted or sure locks.
With Luka expected to be the main focal point for the Los Angeles Lakers in the near future, it's easy to see the Slovenian star continue to make scoring waves. In fact, Los Angeles has already began building around him.
EuroBasket MVP
Luka is currently the centerpiece of the Los Angeles Lakers. But during the offseason, he spends his time as the main man for the Slovenian national team. In fact, in his EuroBasket debut in 2017, Luka came away with his first gold-medal finish, stamping his place as one of the best Slovenian players in history. However, the MVP award of that tournament went to his teammate and former All-Star Goran Dragic.
Since then, Luka has continued to represent Slovenia in international competitions. However, he has always fallen short in the past three EuroBasket tournaments in claiming the MVP Award. This year, he once again missed out after Slovenia was eliminated by eventual champion Germany, who were led by Tournament MVP Dennis Schroder.
However, the Slovenian sensation did have an MVP-worthy outing. He averaged a tournament-leading 34.7 points, to go along with 8.6 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game. A EuroBasket MVP would've been a great milestone to cement Luka as one of the best European players of all time.
FIBA World Cup medal
While Slovenia crashed out of the EuroBasket during the quarterfinals, the country will now pin its hopes on doing well enough in the qualifiers to advance to the FIBA World Cup. As it stands, Slovenia has yet to earn a podium finish on the world stage. Having Luka take them there would instantly strengthen his case as the best player out of Europe.
The Lakers star has only appeared once in the FIBA World Cup, which was in 2023. He averaged 27.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per outing as Slovenia finished seventh in the tournament.
With Luka's strong commitment to the national team, his presence automatically elevates his country as a legitimate medal contender. Moreover, a FIBA World Cup medal instantly increases his Hall of Fame chances.
Olympic medal
However, the biggest possible accomplishment Luka can achieve as a national team player is to give Slovenia an Olympic medal to celebrate about. Surprisingly, the five-time NBA All-Star came pretty close in his helping Slovenia bring home a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was his Olympic debut. Unfortunately, France denied Doncic and Slovenia a trip to the Finals, before Australia sent them home without a medal in the fight for bronze.
Since then, Slovenia has yet to make an Olympic return, after they failed to advance at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece, which led to their absence at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Slovenia's Olympic medal hopes lie on Doncic's shoulders. Given how the team heavily operates around him, the country goes as far as the Lakers star takes them.
NBA MVP
It's quite surprising that given how Luka has played at an elite level individually, the Slovenian star has yet to win the NBA MVP Award. Prior to his infamous blockbuster trade deadline deal to the Lakers, he has been a consistent fixture in the MVP race that saw him finish within the Top 10. An MVP Award would be a great way to cement his superstardom.
With Los Angeles moving to prepare for life after LeBron James, it's a no-brainer that Luka will be the one inheriting the keys to the decorated franchise. As the face of the Lakers, Luka can easily make a statement by winning the MVP Award. Furthermore, he'd become the next international player to achieve the feat.
NBA championship and Finals MVP
The biggest question surrounding Luka's career has been whether he's good enough to lead a franchise to a championship. While he came close to leading the Dallas Mavericks to the promised land in 2024, they still fell short in the NBA Finals, leading to his controversial trade to the Lakers.
As a result, winning an NBA championship and Finals MVP with the Lakers will not only prove the Mavs front office and his doubters wrong, but it also legitimizes the hype that he was as great as advertised coming out of Europe.
However, winning an NBA championship with the Laker won't be easy, let alone a Finals MVP award especially playing alongside arguably the best basketball player in the world, LeBron James. Nonetheless, Doncic is seen as the pillar of the franchise in the present and the future. As a result, winning a championship together with James is the best way of passing the torch.
