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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Ryan Phillips

What Luka Dončić Must Do This Offseason to Make the Lakers a Contender

Luka Dončić had a brilliant season before a devastating injury ended it prematurely. While he’ll certainly take time to reflect after the Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the defending-champion Thunder, the 27-year-old won’t have much time to rest, as his offseason is about to be packed with some pretty important work.

During the 2025–26 season, Dončić won his second NBA scoring title, as he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 35.8 minutes per game. He hit 36.6% of his shots from three-point range. More importantly, he had the Lakers peaking at the right time, as the team went 15–2 in March while Dončić turned into a legitimate MVP contender.

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