Luka Doncic is widely believed to be one of the best players in the game right now. But for 7x champion Robert Horry, there's one major flaw in Luka's game that holds him back from being considered with legends like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.
"No, Luka would never make that [list]," said Horry on the Travis & DeMarco Show. " I love Luka’s game, but you gotta be able to play defense. I'm old school. You've got to be able to play defense for me. I love Luka's game, but look at guys like MJ, Kobe, Olajuwon, Duncan, LeBron, and Kareem. All these guys, to me, played on both ends of the court.”
Horry meant no disrespect to Luka and was quick to recognize his greatness on the offensive end. When talking about the best of the best, however, the former Lakers star says that it requires consistency on both ends of the floor.
“Don’t get me wrong, you got great players like Steph, Luka, James Harden, they’re great players, but this is my list and I look at basketball totally differently," Horry added.
Horry was a reliable role-player during his 16-year career, averaging 7.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game over stints with the Rockets, Suns, Lakers, and Spurs. While his numbers are modest compared to Luka's stats, he was able to make an impact on both ends of the floor and even finished in the top 10 for Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2002.
As great as Luka is (5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA player, 2024 scoring leader), critics point to his defense as one of the reasons why the Mavericks ultimately moved on from him last February. Specifically, Doncic's defensive problems were exposed in the 2024 Finals, when he struggled to stay in front of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
To this day, Luka's lapses on that end of the floor remain a major concern and a big point of contention for his critics. In his first offseason as a Laker, Doncic is taking steps to improve his game by getting into proper shape and playing for Slovenia at the EuroBasket tournament.
Teammates and coaches have raved about this progress so far, but we have yet to see how this will translate into the upcoming NBA season. With averages of 28.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game last campaign, he showed he can fill up the box score with scoring numbers, but to truly take that next step, he'll have to show improvements on the defensive end as well.
With matchups against Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, James Harden, and other high-profile NBA stars, it won't be long before we get to see how Luka has improved on that end of the floor, but the Lakers are counting on him to become a consistent two-way player for them.
If he shows his worth as a defender and learns how to maximize his impact, Horry could be inclined to consider his name among the all-time greats. But until he sees the change, he will think of Doncic as nothing more than an elite scorer on par with offensive specialists like James Harden and Trae Young.
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