Last season was an off year for Luka Doncic, relatively speaking. He was traded by the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February, and at the time, he was still recovering from a calf strain he had sustained on Christmas Day.
While he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists a game, he wasn’t selected to any of the All-NBA teams for the first time since he was a rookie. This season, however, was a different story. He put up 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game, and he won his second scoring title while finishing fourth in the voting for the MVP award.
On Sunday, the All-NBA teams for the 2025-26 campaign were announced, and Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic and Cade Cunningham made the All-NBA First Team.
LeBron James, on the other hand, didn’t make any of the All-NBA teams because he played in only 60 regular-season games, which made him ineligible for any votes. Players must appear in at least 65 regular-season games to be eligible for postseason individual honors.
This was the sixth time Doncic was named to the All-NBA First Team in his eight seasons in the league. Unfortunately, his year was cut short by the Grade 2 hamstring strain he sustained on April 2, but other than that, he undoubtedly had a sensational season. He was named the Western Conference Player of the Month twice and was the main driving force behind the Lakers’ hot streak late in the year when they won 16 of 18 games.
Lakers fans are hoping that Doncic not only has a similar season next year, but that he leads the team to a very deep playoff run and eventually the NBA championship.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic was named to All-NBA First Team
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
