At just 26 years old, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic already has a stacked NBA resume.
The Los Angeles Lakers star is a 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, and also led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals.
While it’s obvious that Luka Doncic makes his teammates better, what about the other side of the story? What’s it like to share the court with the Slovenian superstar?
Aside from his NBA career, Doncic never fails the opportunity to represent the Slovenian basketball team. Even right now, Doncic is with Slovenia for the 2025 EuroBasket.
There’s no doubt that his Slovenian teammates aren’t exactly at an average NBA team’s level. Keeping that in mind, Klemen Prepelic recently answered whether playing with Doncic takes the ‘pressure’ off him.
“Yeah, but on the other side, I have to take responsibility, and I have to block shots. Sometimes it’s not as easy as it looks, but on the other hand, it’s true that whenever you need him, he will be there.
“I mean, Luka is, for me, together with Nikola [Jokic], the best player in the world,” Prepelic said on the Euro Insiders podcast.
When arguably the best player in the NBA is on the team, it’s only natural for his teammates to feel less pressure.
Doncic has the ability to take over a game, as fans witnessed vs. Latvia. Despite being forced to make an early exit due to a knee injury scare, Luka finished the game with 26 points.
In his debut season with the Lakers, Doncic and Co. failed to get past the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
A key reason behind that was a lack of an athletic big alongside Doncic. The Lakers have learned from their mistake by signing Deandre Ayton to a two-year deal.
While Ayton is an athletic big, Prepelic pointed out another type of player that is a must around Luka for his team to succeed.
“To be honest with Luka, you need one athletic big. You need a stretch four. You have [Vlatko] Cancar, which is a great four, and then you need two, three who can shoot, create, and be aggressive defensively,” the Slovenian guard stated.
The Lakers have Austin Reaves, who can shoot well as a shooting guard, and LeBron James, a small forward, who is a playmaking expert and still a solid defender.
But when it comes to the power forward position, neither Rui Hachimura nor Jarred Vanderbilt is a stretch four. So, do the Lakers need to make another move? Only time will tell.
