Through just seven seasons played in the association, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic has accomplished more than most others can only dream of.
From his five All-NBA First Team nods and a league scoring championship to leading the charge for an NBA Finals-bound ball club, the Slovenian-born baller has already established himself as one of the game's all-time greats.
Yet, despite these undeniable truths, the man still finds himself receiving shade from many of the association's internal personnel.
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic snubbed in latest GM survey
In a recent survey of NBA general managers, Doncic was inexplicably excluded from their choices of who they believe would be the ideal player to start a franchise with right now.
Instead, the three players tabbed as legitimate options were San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama (83.0 percent of the votes), Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13.0 percent), and Denver's Nikola Jokic (3.0 percent).
Though the Spurs star serving as the top choice should come as no surprise, as he's still only 21 years old and, if he can stay healthy, has a legitimate shot to be one of the greatest two-way players who has ever lived, seeing both of the latter two talents listed above the Lakers cornerstone is wildly curious.
Not only are both older than the 26-year-old, with Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Jokic already 30, but within this very survey Doncic found himself placing second in the discussion of who is projected to win MVP and fourth in regard to which player in the league "forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments."
Each of these ranks were ahead of SGA.
Sadly, this is just another sign that, despite his continued on-court excellence, Doncic's value is seemingly diminishing with every passing year.
Since 2021's survey, Luka has gone from first in such a conversation at 43.0 percent to, now, not even being mentioned.
We're talking about the only player in NBA history to average at least 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game for their entire career (at least, so far) and who, on a team as storied and with so many all-timers to have donned their threads as the Lakers, has become the fastest player in franchise history to record 700+ points, 200+ rebounds, and 200+ assist with only 28 games played.
As things currently stand, Doncic heads into the 2025-26 season ranked as the third-best player in the NBA (the second-youngest name to be mentioned in the top-five), and, to the GM survey's credit, ranked as the only player to be in the top five at the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions, ultimately taking the top spot at the latter.
Hopefully, a summer of attention-grabbing training will lead these executives to eat crow for their omission of Doncic and, in turn, give the Lakers centerpiece the respect he so clearly deserves.