NBA writer finally drops Luka Doncic truth Lakers fans are completely ignoring

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic has been under heavy criticism for his defensive effort and constant complaining to referees recently, and Lakers fans are starting to take his greatness for granted. CBS Sports' Sam Quinn understands this, and his recent encapsulation of Doncic's game hit the nail on the head.

"Luka Doncic was the best player on a team that made the Finals," Quinn tweeted. "Last player to beat OKC in a series. Career playoff averages of 31-9-8. He absolutely has significant weaknesses. If they outweigh that first paragraph to you, idk, I’d probably reconsider my standards a bit."

Quinn knows that Doncic has weaknesses, with defense clearly being his biggest limitation, but his offensive wizardry is incredible and at the top of the league. No one else can do what he does with the ball in his hands.

Doncic manipulates the game with his unreal on-ball gravity and takes over the game often with his passing, and not many other players in this league can do that.

Lakers fans are taking Luka Doncic for granted

He does all of this while leading the league in scoring (33.6 points per game), and he is one of the most special offensive players the NBA has seen.

Doncic put the world on notice when he led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011 in 2024, and he put the entire team on his back to take down the LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves to win the Western Conference.

He was clearly the Mavs' best player for that entire playoff run, but the mainstream media found a way to blame him for Dallas losing to the Boston Celtics in five games in the NBA Finals.

His poor defense became the biggest talking point about his game following that season, despite nearly all of Dallas' role players disappearing in that series against the Celtics, and the same thing seems to be happening right now.

Even if Doncic has a monster game and wills the Lakers to a win, the lowlights of him occasionally giving poor effort on defense seem to overshadow that. Doncic is in the top 10 in the NBA in steals per game at 1.6, but no one wants to talk about that.

Lakers fans are beginning to turn on him less than one year into his journey with the team, and Quinn isn't standing for it.

He reminded the world that Doncic just led Dallas to the NBA Finals less than two years ago, and all of the great things about his game are what fans need to be talking about, rather than strictly his struggles.

Doncic deserves criticism, just like any other player, but he also deserves some praise. His defense and effort definitely need to improve if he wants to be a multi-time champion and go down as one of the greatest players to ever play, but he has plenty of time to clean up his rough edges.

Doncic is only 26 years old, and he has already proven that he can do anything that he sets his mind to. Before this season, he dramatically transformed his body after criticism that he was out of shape, and he is bound to fix his defense soon as well.

He doesn't have the physical tools to be an elite backcourt defender, but as he continues to work on his body, the energy and effort should naturally improve. Doncic is one of the best offensive players of this era, and Lakers fans are going to have to learn to live with his weaknesses.