The Ringer’s Max Kellerman is emerging as one of Luka Doncic’s biggest critics, and he went at the Los Angeles Lakers superstar again on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Kellerman claims Doncic’s game hasn’t developed as much as one would have imagined and criticized him for his defense and complaining.
“Luka Doncic, because he can get a high percentage shot whenever he wants, it has stunted his development as a player in a lot of respects, right?” Kellerman said. “Because why wouldn’t you do that? You want to score on this possession. But as a result, guys are standing around, they’re not playing with energy, they’re not moving without the ball, they’re not touching the ball, they’re not in rhythm, they can’t get hot from outside.
“And then top of that, he complains on every call and doesn’t play defense hardly ever,” Kellerman added. “Maybe one of the worst defenders in the game, even though he has the size to play some defense at least.”
Kellerman had previously roasted Doncic by claiming his statue would be him complaining with his arms out. He is fed up with the Slovenian complaining to the officials on every single possession.
Doncic’s complaining is somewhat out of control. There isn’t a player in the NBA who thinks they get as many calls as they deserve. They all want more, but none of them berates the officials as often as he does.
Doncic’s complaining has also resulted in him not always running back on defense, which hurts the Lakers, a bad defensive team as is, in transition. Sticking with the defensive end, he might not actually be as bad a defender as people make him out to be.
That said, Doncic is not a good defender. Teams often try to target him, and there aren’t too many occasions where he manages to hold his own. While you can maybe ask for more effort from the six-time All-Star, he can only do so much on defense, considering his lack of athleticism.
While having a superstar who struggles defensively might not be ideal, you can still build a team around them that is capable of winning a championship. The Dallas Mavericks had done just that by surrounding Doncic with athletic defenders, and he took them to the 2024 NBA Finals. To say he doesn’t have the ideal supporting cast on the Lakers might be an understatement, and Bill Simmons brought that up here.
“The first time the Lakers fans are really getting the other side of the Luka package,” Simmons said. “With the whining after every call, with the just not getting back on defense. All the little stuff. The stuff that Dallas got fed up with, ironically. I don’t think they should have traded him, but stuff that they were getting fed up with.
“The counter to all of this is Dallas almost won the Finals in ’24 with him,” Simmons continued. “With a team that was built around him. The irony of this Lakers team, it’s the exact team you wouldn’t want to build around him, right? Three guys who kind of need the ball. Any two of them don’t really know what to do if they don’t have the ball.”
Doncic, who is averaging 32.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in 2025-26, has managed to lead the Lakers to a respectable 34-24 record, but it seems unlikely they’ll have much success in the postseason. They were eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2025, and another early exit looks to be on the cards.
If that does happen, Doncic will come under fire, no matter how good his numbers are. He has got a target on his back at this point.
