Luka Dončić Has the Crown. Do the Lakers Have Enough?

It Started With Luka.

I originally started this article wanting to talk about Luka.

Settling into the preseason games, I watched Luka take what now feel like normal fadeaway three-pointers with defenders draped all over him.

The results? Cash.

My thoughts? Nasty. Stupid. Makes no damn sense.

...Glad he's on my team.

And while I don't think he had an all-time preseason, I saw enough to know that Luka is coming into this year in seemingly some of the best shape of his life, focused on leading this team to great things.

We're watching one of the greatest offensive talents this game has ever seen, right in the middle of his prime. And now, going into his second full season as a Laker, the ridiculous things Luka does with a basketball are starting to feel routine to this lifelong Lakers fan.

I Can Feel It in the Air.

But the more I watched, the more familiar this whole situation started to feel.

This is officially the post-LeBron era in Los Angeles. Luka has the keys, and the weight of the franchise is on his shoulders.

And not gonna lie, it got me thinking about those first couple of Kobe years without Shaq.

Kobe and Shaq had their feuds. That's well documented. Shaq gets traded. It's Kobe's team. Diss tracks, back-to-backs...yada yada yada. You know the story.

But I digress. Luka and LeBron seemingly got along just fine. LeBron decided to take his talents to Philadelphia this summer, leaving Luka as the unquestioned face of the franchise.

Different circumstances. A very familiar feeling.

Through the summer and these preseason games, I'm getting some heavy post-Shaq Kobe energy from Luka. An incredible regular-season show. Electrifying Crypto.com Arena and opposing arenas every night.

I'm expecting a light show every time he steps on the court. And I'm excited as hell to see it.

But I also remember what happened when those Kobe teams got to the playoffs.

And that's where my excitement about Luka starts running into some questions about the Lakers.

Because Luka has carried teams before. But can he do it with this talent, with THIS franchise?

The Company You Keep

Nobody who watched him in Dallas needs convincing that Luka is capable of carrying a heavy offensive burden. But when you actually look at his playoff runs, he's had some ELITE offensive talent beside him.

Brunson. Kyrie. And most recently, LeBron.

Brunson helped Luka reach the Western Conference Finals in 2022, including that unforgettable Game 7 beatdown of a 64-win Phoenix team.

Kyrie gave Luka another superstar who could create his own offense without fighting over whose team it was. Together, they reached the NBA Finals in 2024.

And while Luka and LeBron only got one postseason together in 2024–25, that was still another elite offensive weapon sharing the floor. Luka missed the entire 2025–26 playoff run with a hamstring injury, while LeBron helped lead the Lakers to the second round.

Different situations, but the common thread is another offensive force who could change a game without waiting for Luka to create everything.

Which brings me to Austin Reaves.

Because if this is officially Luka's team, Reaves has a pretty important role to play in what happens next.

Austin Reaves Is Robin Now. Holy Moly Donut Shop!

Let me make something clear. I love AR.

The boy is a dog.

He competes, he can get his own shot, and he gets to the line. You don't go from undrafted to averaging 23.3 points a game by accident.

And Luka has already proven he can thrive next to another guard who wants to shoot the basketball. That's not my concern.

Reaves doesn't need to be Kyrie. But he does need to be the best version of Austin Reaves we've ever seen.

Because the Lakers are betting on him as their number two option. Not a nice third piece. Not a luxury scorer who gets to have an off night while two Hall of Famers carry the load.

The number two.

Can Austin be Steph's Klay? Can he be Giannis' Jrue Holiday?

For me, that answer starts with consistency.

AR can give you 40 on any given night. We've seen that. But he can also turn around and give you 16 or 18.

That's not going to cut it when you've been promoted to Robin.

I need his scoring floor to rise. Not just the occasional explosion that reminds everybody how talented he is, but consistent production that Luka can count on night after night.

And defensively, there's another level he can reach.

Reaves gives effort. I'll never question that. But with Luka already not being an all-world defender, AR taking a step forward on that end of the floor would go a long way toward making this backcourt work.

Because when a playoff defense decides Luka isn't beating them tonight, when they trap him and force the ball out of his hands, Reaves is the guy who's going to have to make them regret it.

Not once or twice.

Consistently. Over a seven-game series.

There's a world where AR becomes exactly what this team needs.

But there's also a world where he's a very good basketball player being asked to fill a role that ultimately requires someone great.

Can he be that guy?

That's what I'm watching.

Kareem. Shaq. Gasol. AD. ...Walker Kessler?

Like most Lakers fans, watching new players on the team for the first time in preseason is a little bit like Christmas morning. You get to unwrap your presents, see what you've got, and imagine all the possibilities.

And Walker Kessler was the biggest gift of the Lakers' offseason.

Because nobody appreciates a real center more than I do.

Kessler rebounds, blocks shots, and protects the paint. For a team that desperately needed a defensive presence inside, that's huge. And playing with Luka? You don't have to sell me. I see the vision on paper.

But here's where I start doing the math.

Four years. $130 million.

Two unprotected first-round picks. Two pick swaps.

That's a serious investment.

In his last substantial season, 2024–25, Kessler averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks.

Those defensive numbers are beautiful. I mean that.

But in the year of our Lord 2026, I want to know what else my $30-million-a-year center can give me.

Look around the league at some of these big men.

You've got Embiid and Şengün, guys you can actually run an offense through. Bam and Jalen Duren are giving you legitimate scoring production of their own, with Bam also being one of the best defenders in basketball.

Then you've got the Gobert, Isaiah Hartenstein type of center. Protect the paint, set screens, grab rebounds, finish what somebody else creates.

That's where I see Walker Kessler. In that Gobert, Hartenstein mold.

And that's not a diss!

Rudy Gobert is going to get Hall of Fame votes. Making a living being a defensive giant that lives in the paint is a good life!

But I'm questioning whether the Lakers spent the kind of money and assets you spend on a missing championship piece without actually solving their biggest remaining problem.

Scoring.

"You don't need a dominant post scorer next to Luka to win, Ricky!"

Look, I get it.

Luka can make everybody's life easier. Reaves can take another leap. Kessler can anchor the defense. The pieces can fit beautifully.

But come playoff time, when the other team has seven games to figure you out, who's creating offense when Luka gets bottled up and Reaves isn't having his night?

So no, I don't need Walker Kessler to be the best offensive center in basketball. I need the Lakers to have enough offense to win a championship.

And after committing $130 million and four valuable draft assets to the Big Fella, I'm still trying to figure out where that additional offense is coming from.

And the Rest of the Crew?

Quentin Grimes is exactly the kind of player you want around Luka. Defend your position, knock down open shots, don't need the offense built around you. That's a valuable addition.

Collin Sexton gives them another aggressive scorer who can attack off the bench.

And then there's Mamu.

Sandro Mamukelashvili is giving me a little Lamar Odom energy.

I'm not saying he's Lamar. That would be premature and foolish to compare anyone to my favorite Lakers role player of all time.

But you can see the vision, right?

A big who can handle, pass, shoot, and make things happen without needing every possession called for him.

I see why Lakers fans are getting excited.

There's talent here. There's versatility. There's a reason to believe this supporting cast can be better than the sum of its parts.

But having good pieces isn't the same as having another superstar.

And that's where my mind keeps going back to Kobe.

The Kobe Years Were Never a Kobe Problem

People love to use 2005 to 2007 as proof that Kobe's success was solely dependent on Shaq. That somehow his championship rings don't count as much because he won them next to the Big Diesel.

Don't talk to those people.

They're idiots and they're bad for your health.

Look at some of the names Kobe was working with during those post-Shaq years.

Smush Parker. Kwame Brown. Chris Mihm. Chucky Atkins.

Chucky fucking Atkins.

Anyways, I say all that to say Kobe still had a historic individual run.

Averaged 35.4 a night in 2005–06. Scored 81 in a game. Dragged that roster to the playoffs in the West, and had a 54-win Phoenix team down 3-1 in the first round before it slipped.

Then followed it up by averaging 31.6 the next season.

That wasn't a man failing to wear the crown. That was a man wearing it with nothing around his neck but the weight.

By the summer of 2007, Kobe made it plain: this roster wasn't good enough, and everybody in the building knew he was right.

He didn't need to become a different player. He needed the franchise to do its job.

Then Pau Gasol arrived in February 2008.

Same Kobe. Same crown.

Three straight Finals. Two rings.

Kobe didn't change. The help did.

Luka has a better supporting cast than those post-Shaq, pre-Pau Kobe teams. Significantly better.

But what if that still isn't enough?

That wasn't a man failing to wear the crown. That was a man wearing it with nothing around his neck but the weight.

Rob Pelinka, What's the Next Move?

Let's vibe for a second. Walk with me.

When LeBron arrived in Los Angeles in 2018, he spent one season with the young core. Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart.

Then the Lakers made their decision.

They weren't waiting around to find out whether all that potential would eventually become championship help.

They traded for six-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA First Team Anthony MFing Davis.

Ingram became an All-Star the very next season. The talent was real.

But so was the difference between waiting for someone to become a star and putting an established superstar next to LeBron.

First season with AD? Championship.

Now look at where the Lakers find themselves today.

Rob Pelinka has been here since 2017. He's survived coaching changes, front-office changes, and now enormous changes in ownership.

The Buss family is back on TMZ, I mean, back in court.

There's more uncertainty around the Lakers than a pending Maury DNA test, right after a commercial about mesothelioma.

And somehow, Pelinka is still standing.

I'm going to be honest. If there was ever an end-of-the-world scenario, I'm pulling up to Rob Pelinka's house.

Because I know... somehow... that motherfucker is surviving.

To his credit, the man did land Anthony Davis, win a championship, and eventually flip Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic.

And I think this offseason was received more favorably than some of his previous work.

But there's a difference between liking the moves and trusting the man making them to finish the job.

Because while I appreciate the talent the Lakers brought in, I also recognize what it cost them.

The Kessler acquisition took serious draft capital. Reaves got paid. The new supporting cast represents a significant investment in this version of the Lakers.

These aren't moves you make if you think you're three years away.

And here's where things get interesting.

The Lakers already sent their 2029 first-round pick to Dallas in the Luka trade. Now Utah owns their unprotected firsts in 2031 and 2033, plus swap rights in 2028 and 2030.

That's a whole lot of future draft capital already spoken for.

Sure, they've got some second-round picks. They've got contracts they can move. Jarred Vanderbilt, Quentin Grimes, Mamu, Collin Sexton.

But the Lakers are already roughly $36 million over the salary cap, and those remaining first-round picks aren't exactly sitting there waiting to be packaged into another blockbuster.

The cupboard isn't completely empty.

But I wouldn't open it expecting to find Anthony Davis in there, either.

So what happens if we get to January and the Lakers look good, but not Oklahoma City good? Not San Antonio good? Not even on the level of a Minnesota team I think is going to be one of the most entertaining groups in basketball?

What lever does Pelinka pull?

Does he have the assets? The flexibility? The confidence of an ownership group still figuring out its own future?

I don't know.

And that's not an accusation. That's a legitimate question about the direction of this franchise.

Because another blockbuster isn't just something you can order off TikTok Shop.

And if history tells us anything, it's that having the superstar is only part of the job.

The rest belongs to the people building around him.

So What Do I Actually Expect?

Let me be honest, because I ride for this team too hard to lie about them.

I'm choosing to enjoy this season.

I get to watch a motivated killer in his prime, embracing the responsibility and burden of being the face of the largest basketball franchise on the planet.

I'm expecting a 2005–07 Kobe kind of season out of Luka.

The scoring title is on the table. Career numbers are on the table. All of it.

But if we're keeping it a buck...

The West is fucking tough.

So here's my prediction for our 2026–27 Lakers as of October 20, 2026.

Luka has an all-time individual season and it still isn't enough to make a deep playoff run.

06 Mamba numbers but 07 playoff results.

Not because the supporting cast is bad. But because it's simply not enough to compete with the top dogs.

The West doesn't care about your storylines.

And Los Angeles doesn't measure greatness by scoring titles.

So while the crown is firmly placed on Luka's head, the question remains:

Without another superstar by his side, can he wear that crown without getting crushed by the gravity of expectations?

We will be monitoring the situation closely.

Season starts tonight. Can't wait.