The Los Angeles Lakers just locked down Luka Doncic for the long-term, and now their focus shifts to finding a running mate to pair with him.
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Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
Reserve center Jaxson Hayes snubbed his own teammate when naming Nikola Jokic as the best player in the world. The general debate about the best player sees Hayes’ Los Angeles Lakers teammate Luka Doncic in those conversations with Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the main realistic options.
Hayes didn’t have Luka on the mind when he went out of his way to call Jokic the best player in the world after last night’s game:
“He’s like 350 pounds. And he has the best footwork I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ve got to use your strength against him; then he’s going to use finesse on you once you use strength against him. I mean, we’ve all seen it over the past few years. He’s the best player in the world right now.”
The Denver Nuggets defeated the Lakers in an exciting game behind Jokic’s superstar play. Hayes gave Jokic the nod as a center having to defend him every time they are on the court together. Jokic’s brute force and intelligent decisions make him virtually impossible to guard one on one. Hayes explained his rationale by talking about the difficult experience of playing against Jokic.
Did Jaxson Hayes Snub Luka Doncic?
Doncic has been involved in the “best in the world” debate for a few years, but that has fallen off this year. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander have raised their game to another level. Players like Doncic, Antetokounmpo, and Anthony Edwards feel a step behind due to the other two’s dominant play leading to greater team success.
Lakers Daily
Jaxson Hayes calls Nikola Jokic “the best player in the world right now”
Another strong postseason run is needed for Luka to have a real chance at being argued the best in the league. Doncic’s scoring is still elite, but his lackluster defense and other flaws have caused him to fall down the list. The Lakers aren’t winning as much as the Nuggets to give Jokic that nod.
However, most role players typically hype their teammates up if someone is at Luka’s level. Hayes’ points come from Doncic setting him up with easy scores, but he still believes Jokic is better after guarding the three-time MVP all night.
What Luka Can Do To Become #1
The two most important prizes in the NBA for the elite superstar level are NBA Championships and MVP Awards. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander have a combined four regular season MVP Awards and two NBA Championships over the last four seasons, with one of the two likely to win MVP this year.
Doncic has neither of those things and will have to get at least one to be the best in the world. The Lakers’ team success must improve for Luka to have a chance at reaching the absolute top of the NBA.
An important offseason will see the Lakers front office attempting to put the right pieces around Doncic. Hayes’ comments are accurate in that Jokic deserves to be viewed as the best above Luka. Gilgeous-Alexander is the name most snubbed from this comment, even though Hayes didn’t give the nod to his own teammate.