3 Luka Dončić makes bold predictions for the 2025-26 Lakers season

When is it Los Angeles Lakers As a tip-off, the 2025-26 NBA season will be without LeBron James as he recovers from a nerve injury. With James sidelined until possibly mid-November, the first few weeks of the Lakers season will be Luka Dončićit’s her time to shine. Ahead of the start of the Lakers season, we’re going to make some bold Luka Doncic predictions.

Doncic has just finished his first full training camp and the preseason with the Lakers, a time he used to take advantage of the opportunity to work on his leadership. He’s only played in two preseason games for the Lakers, and during the team’s final preseason game against the Sacramento Kings last Friday, he looked like he’s in midseason form.

During the summer, The Lakers and Doncic agreed on a contract extension that will keep him in a Lakers jersey at least through the 2028-29 season, while cementing Doncic as a franchise player for now and the foreseeable future.

The Lakers enter the season looking to erase the bitter taste of last year’s playoff disappointment and have made some key roster additions to play alongside Doncic. However, let’s move on to our bold Luka Doncic predictions for the upcoming Lakers season.

Luka Dončić will lead the league in scoring

If the Lakers’ last preseason game is any indication, Doncic is ready to shoulder the load on the Lakers’ offensive line. With James out indefinitely, much of the burden will fall on Doncic, something he is more than capable of doing. He finished with 31 points in 32 minutes while shooting 8-of-16 from the field, 6-of-11 from the three-point line and 9-of-12 from the free throw line.

Doncic has always been one of the league’s most talented scorers, and he already led the NBA in scoring during the 2023-24 season, the year he led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals. After an offseason that saw his weight change make headlines, a lanky Doncic bodes well for the Lakers offensively.

Last season, Doncic averaged 28.2 points during his time with the Mavericks and Lakers. That would have been enough for fourth place in the league behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, had he not reached the threshold of games played.

Again, Dončić last led the league in goals in the 2023-24 season, not so long ago. With plenty of touch and a slim build, expect Doncic to win another points title.

Luka Doncic leads the Lakers in the first three places in the West

Last season, the Lakers shocked many by winning the top three seeds in a tough Western Conference in the midst of JJ Redick’s first season as head coach. While the team’s jump in the standings actually started right before Doncic’s trade, when Doncic joined the lineup, he helped them maintain their position in the West.

With James’ potential return and recovery timeline still up in the air, the Lakers are missing a significant piece of their roster. While the team has added key pieces in DeAndre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart, on paper the team isn’t exactly built to withstand long absences.

That’s where Doncic comes in. If he plays at an MVP-type level and leads the league in scoring, the Lakers could have enough to grab another high seed in the West. And Dončić doesn’t just bring goals to the table. He’s a triple-double threat on a nightly basis and one of the league’s elite playmakers. He makes everyone around him better.

Luka Doncic will finish the top three in the MVP voting

It’s hard to believe that Doncic has yet to win an MVP award in his career. The closest he ever came to winning was the year he led the league in scoring in 2023-24. He finished third in first-place votes behind Jokic and Antetokounmpo.

If one of our bold Luka Doncic predictions was that he would lead the NBA in scoring, it’s fair enough to make another prediction that he’ll be in the running for MVP, given that he led the league in scoring last time out.

Going into the season, some of the usual suspects will be in the mix. Gilgeous-Alexander will only get better. The Nuggets have upgraded the roster around Jokic. But if the Lakers can once again finish with the top three seeds in the West, and Doncic leads the league in scoring, don’t be shocked if he takes home his first MVP honors.