Lakers must steal Mavericks' formula for Luka Doncic domination

The Dallas Mavericks organization has always understood the type of personnel Luka Doncic needs around him to give his team the best chance of success. Doncic needs shooters to spread the floor, bigs who can roll to the basket for easy lobs, tough 3-and-D wings, and one star or superstar talent who is skilled at playing off the ball when needed.

The Lakers need to replicate this formula if they want to get the most out of Doncic. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

Lakers need to replicate how the Mavericks built around Doncic

It’s a simple formula that helped the Mavs reach the 2024 NBA Finals despite falling 4-1 to the Boston Celtics. However, for the Los Angeles Lakers, it might not be so simple. But it should be. All the Lakers need to do is use the same blueprint for Doncic and Austin Reaves that Dallas used for Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Doncic joined a team with an aging LeBron James (41), who has a very similar skill set to Doncic and needs the ball in his hands just as much to be his most effective. James has made an admirable effort to take a backseat to Doncic. But the Lakers are aiming to build around the younger backcourt tandem of Doncic and Reaves.

If James departs via free agency in the summer, the Lakers will have more salary cap flexibility to seek shooters and 3-and-D players to supplement Doncic and recreate Dallas’s trademark Luka success formula.

How the Doncic-Reaves duo mirrors Dallas' old pairing

The Doncic and Reaves pairing shares similarities with the short-lived Doncic and Irving tandem. Reaves has shown he can play off Doncic and still score (23.9 ppg, 50% from the field this season), while also leading the offense when Doncic needs a break.

Irving arrived in Dallas via a 2023 midseason trade and quickly demonstrated he and Doncic could coexist. A year later, they made it to the NBA Finals. The Lakers would love to replicate that timeline.

The Lakers’ advantage is that Reaves (27) is the same age as Doncic (27), so their careers can develop together, whereas Irving (33) played the role of veteran big brother to Doncic, with Dallas having a smaller window of opportunity with the Doncic/Irving partnership.

Lakers are looking to improve their shooting like Dallas did

Recently, the Lakers acquired elite shooter Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks to do what Tim Hardaway Jr. once did for Dallas, and what Dallas hoped Klay Thompson would do for Doncic before he was traded—spread the floor.

Kennard has been hot, shooting 46.3 percent from downtown since arriving in LA, and seems to be another key piece in replicating Dallas’s success blueprint with Doncic. Forward Rui Hachimura has shot over 40 percent from three over the past two seasons and is shooting 44.2 percent this season. And the Lakers will continue to look for shooters in the offseason to add to their arsenal.

The Lakers need Dallas' frontcourt formula

Defensively, the Lakers rely on an older Marcus Smart (32) and streaky Jarred Vanderbilt for their 3-and-D skills, but they will continue to look for players who can emulate what P.J. Washington and Derek Jones Jr. contributed to Dallas during their 2024 NBA Finals run.

Finally, Deandre Ayton (27) is the Lakers' most polarizing player. The former lottery pick has the physical tools Doncic appreciates in his big men. He’s mobile around the basket, can run the floor, and is athletic enough to catch lobs. However, his work ethic can be questionable at times, and he’s proven to be cantankerous when he doesn’t get the ball.

Ayton might not match the style of Dallas big men Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford, who pride themselves on defense, doing the dirty work, and catching lobs at the rim. Ayton sees himself as more, and even complained in February, saying, “They’re trying to make me Clint Capela. I’m not no Clint Capela!” So, despite his talent, the Lakers might consider moving him next season for someone more fitting, like Daniel Gafford.

But if it doesn’t work out, there’s nothing quite like the real thing. Dallas fans would love for Doncic to exercise his player option for the 2028-29 season and return to the Mavs. In the meantime, Dallas fans will be watching with bated breath to see if the Lakers can recreate “Luka Magic” in Tinseltown.