Hall of Famer and 1996 Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton has weighed in on the lingering question that continues to follow Luka Doncic: Will he ever become a competent defender?
During a candid conversation at the BUDX NBA House event in Mumbai, Payton, renowned for his elite perimeter defense and relentless tenacity, didn’t mince words. He didn’t question Doncic’s talent, he questioned his will.
“Like I said, basketball is different than when I played because I could put my hands on them and I could hand check. We’ll talk about Luka. You have to be dedicated to play defense. You have to be dedicated. Maybe that’s not for him.”
“He’s a scorer. He can do it. Now, if he gets his mind to it, I tell every kid that I go and do camps with, I say there’s a mindset to play defense. Not just say you want to play defense. You can’t do that unless you have a mindset to do that.”
“You have to have great hands and feet to do that. You have to be able to move. You have to be willing to take sacrifices to do things. And that’s just the way it goes. I don’t think Luka is a defensive player. I think he’s a scorer. He’s not one of that. But now, if he wants to, yes, he can get his mind to it to do it. But does he want to do it?”
“That’s left up to him. That’s not left up to us. He’s an athlete. He’s got great ability. Now, if he wants to go and change it and prove people wrong that he can’t play defense, if that was me, I would change it.”
“I would say, yeah, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to try to defend somebody. And I’m going to get in shape. I’m going to do the things that I need to do. And I’m going to do that.”
This statement cuts to the heart of one of the biggest critiques of Luka Doncic. Offensively, there’s no doubt he’s a generational savant, a wizard with the ball, capable of scoring and facilitating at historic levels. But defensively, he’s often compared to a traffic cone.
In the 2025 Western Conference first-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Doncic was repeatedly exposed in one-on-one matchups. Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley blew past him with ease, and clips of Luka conceding straight-line drives went viral.
Paul Pierce openly criticized Doncic on national television after the series, declaring that he has to learn how to play defense. Kendrick Perkins was even more direct, calling Doncic “the worst defensive star in modern basketball.”
And those criticisms had real-world consequences, they played a role in the Dallas Mavericks’ shocking trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison defended the move by saying, “Defense wins championships,” subtly implying that Doncic’s limitations on that end were incompatible with their championship goals. Harrison believed Davis, despite being older and more injury-prone, gave Dallas the elite defensive anchor they lacked with Luka.
The Boston Celtics also schemed Doncic into oblivion during the 2024 NBA Finals, targeting him relentlessly in pick-and-roll actions. The results were brutal: open looks, exposed rotations, and layups, all courtesy of Luka’s sluggish foot speed and delayed reactions.
However, there are signs that Doncic is finally taking the criticism seriously. This offseason, photos surfaced of a slimmed-down Luka, reportedly after undergoing a modified diet and focused indoor training regimen.
Now with the Lakers, he seems more determined than ever to shed the perception that he’s a one-way player. Sources close to the team say his conditioning has vastly improved, and his attention to detail during film sessions has been sharper than in years past.
Whether that transformation translates to better defensive results on the court remains to be seen. But as Gary Payton emphasized, defense isn’t about talent, it’s about choice.
Doncic has all the tools to become a passable, even respectable defender. But only time will tell if the new-look Lakers star finally develops the mindset required to back it up.
