When the Los Angeles Lakers tip-off the 2025-26 NBA season, they will be without LeBron James as he recovers from a nerve injury. With James sidelined possibly until mid-November, the first few weeks of the Lakers’ season are going to be Luka Doncic’s time to shine. Ahead of the start of the Lakers’ season, we’ll be making our Luka Doncic bold predictions.
Doncic just completed his first full training camp and preseason with the Lakers, a time that he used to take the opportunity to work on his leadership. He only participated in two preseason games for the Lakers, and during the team’s final preseason game against the Sacramento Kings last Friday, he looked like he was in midseason form.
Over the summer, the Lakers and Doncic agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in a Lakers jersey through at least the 2028-29 season, while cementing Doncic as the franchise player for now and the foreseeable future.
The Lakers come into the season looking to erase the bitter taste of last year’s playoff disappointment, and having made some key roster additions to play alongside Doncic. Nevertheless, let’s move on to our Luka Doncic bold predictions for the upcoming Lakers’ season.
Luka Doncic will lead the league in scoring
If the Lakers’ final preseason game is any indication, Doncic is ready to shoulder the offensive load for the Lakers. With James out indefinitely, more of the load is going to fall on Doncic, something he’s more than capable of doing. He finished with 31 points in 32 minutes while shooting 8-of-16 from the field, 6-of-11 from the three-point line and 9-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line.
Doncic has always been one of the league’s most talented scorers, and he has already lead the NBA in scoring during the 2023-24 season, the year he led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals. After an offseason during which his weight transformation garnered headlines, a slimmer Doncic bodes well for the Lakers in terms of offense.
This past season, Doncic averaged 28.2 points across his time with the Mavericks and the Lakers. That would have been good enough for fourth in the league behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, if not for him not meeting the games played threshold.
Again, it was only the 2023-24 season when Doncic last led the league in scoring, not that long ago. With plenty of touches and a slim physique, expect Doncic to grab another scoring title.
Luka Doncic leads Lakers to top-three finish in the West
Last season, the Lakers shocked many by grabbing a top-three seed in the tough Western Conference amid JJ Redick’s first season as head coach. While the team’s surge in the standings actually began right before the Doncic trade, when Doncic joined the lineup, he helped them maintain their standing in the West.
With James’ potential return and recovery timeline still up in the air, the Lakers are missing a significant piece to their lineup. While the team did add key pieces in Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart, on paper the team isn’t quite built to withstand a major absence for too long.
That’s where Doncic comes in. If he’s playing at an MVP type level and leading the league in scoring, the Lakers might have enough to grab another high seed in the West standings. And it’s not just scoring that Doncic brings to the table. He’s a triple double threat on a nightly basis and one of the league’s elite playmakers. He makes everyone around him better.
Luka Doncic will finish top three in MVP voting
It’s kind of hard to believe that Doncic has yet to win an MVP Award in his career. The closest he ever came to winning was the year he lead the league in scoring in 2023-24. He finished third in first place votes behind Jokic and Antetokounmpo.
If one of our Luka Doncic bold predictions was that he was going to lead the NBA in scoring, it’s fair enough to make another prediction that he will be in the running for MVP, considering the last time he led the league in scoring he was in the race.
Coming into the season, some of the usual suspects will be in the mix. Gilgeous-Alexander is only going to get better. The Nuggets upgraded the roster around Jokic. But if the Lakers can once again finish with a top-three seed in the West, with Doncic leading the league in scoring, don’t be shocked if he takes home his first MVP honors.
