Luka Doncic
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Lakers' Luka Doncic during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers in November 2025
The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the win column on Sunday night, snapping a two-game skid with a 110-93 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The win offered a brief pause, but it did little to quiet the broader criticism surrounding the Lakers’ season. Los Angeles has gone 6-9 over its last 15 games and, despite sitting well above .500, the overall trajectory has felt increasingly uneasy.
In late December, Luka Doncic pushed back on growing outside noise, suggesting that the Lakers’ struggles were being overstated.
Following Sunday’s win, he appeared to strike a similar tone again.
Lakers Star Continues to Push Back on Outside Criticism
After a blowout loss to the Detroit Pistons to close out 2025, Doncic addressed the negativity surrounding the team with a wider view of the standings.
“Well, we’re 20-11, which isn’t too bad,” he said. “We’re two or three games out of second place. Even though it might seem terrible, it’s not that bad. But we definitely have to improve.”
At the time, the Lakers had lost four of their previous five games, with criticism mounting around consistency, defensive execution, rotations, and overall identity. Since then, results have continued to slide.
After scoring 25 points and handing out seven assists in the win over Toronto, Doncic again framed the moment as one of perspective rather than panic.
“Well, it’s not a bad record,” he said, via ESPN. “Obviously it could be better, but sometimes we play like this and we played against Atlanta. It gives us a better chance to win. So just got to look at those two games and play like that.”
That reference pointed to Wednesday’s 141-116 blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks, which, along with the Raptors victory, are the Lakers’ only two wins over a seven-game stretch.
Lakers Facing Reality as Schedule Tightens
At the midpoint of the season, the Lakers sit at 25-16 and have slipped to sixth in the Western Conference.
What was once a two-game gap behind the San Antonio Spurs has grown to 3.5 games, while the Phoenix Suns now sit just half a game behind Los Angeles in seventh, within play-in territory.
An eight-game road trip looms, and while matchups against the Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets present opportunities to stack wins, the trip opens with difficult tests against an in-form Denver Nuggets and a surging Los Angeles Clippers.
Trips to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks add further uncertainty. Regardless of opponent, the margin for error is shrinking.
“I mean, we’re getting paid to do this,” Doncic added. “Shouldn’t be any excuses. So I know it’s going to be a lot of traveling, but we get paid to do this and I love it.”
The Lakers rank last in the NBA in bench scoring at 25.7 points per game and sit 26th in defensive rating at 117.4. Those issues have been magnified by recent injuries and an increasing workload on the team’s stars.
Doncic is logging the fourth-highest minutes load in the league at 36.3 per night. LeBron James, now 41, continues to require careful management, while Austin Reaves remains sidelined following an extended absence.
All of it has sharpened the focus on the weeks ahead. With the February 5 trade deadline approaching and the Lakers’ form trending the wrong way, the need for reinforcements is growing.