The year 2025 has belonged to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but Gilbert Arenas thinks he hasn’t done enough to surpass Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic career-wise just yet. Arenas explained why he believes Doncic’s career has been better than Gilgeous-Alexander’s so far on Gil’s Arena.
“If both their careers stop right now, Luka will probably be in front of Shai,” Arenas said. “Last year helps Shai catch up, but you’re talking about the same age. One is a five-time All-NBA First Team.”
Co-host Nick Young brought up the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander won the championship and was named MVP last season, feats Doncic hasn’t achieved yet. Arenas, though, thinks all that did was close the gap.
“He did all to catch up; that’s how far behind he was,” Arenas replied. “Shai is a three-time All-NBA. One has been the No. 1 player in his position five straight years.”
Arenas’ argument is that Doncic’s earning more All-NBA First Team selections gives him the edge over Gilgeous-Alexander. The rest of the panel didn’t agree with him, though.
This really does come down to how much you value a player winning a championship in these debates. Doncic has been a great player for a longer duration than Gilgeous-Alexander, but doesn’t have the hardware to show for it.
Doncic has won a scoring title and has made five All-Star and five All-NBA First teams. The 26-year-old did come close to winning a championship, but his Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals.
Also, while Doncic has never won MVP, he was in the running for the award for many years. The Slovenian has finished in the top five in voting on three separate occasions, and one could argue he should have won in 2024.
Gilgeous-Alexander also had a case to win MVP in 2024, but ultimately finished second behind Nikola Jokic. He and the Thunder then lost to Doncic’s Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals but roared back in style the following season.
Gilgeous-Alexander has now won a title, a Finals MVP, an MVP, and a scoring title in his career. The 27-year-old has made three All-Star and three All-NBA First teams to go with that.
If championships are the be-all and end-all for you, then you would give Gilgeous-Alexander the edge over Doncic. While some might feel that’s a bit unfair, as basketball is a team sport, the number of titles a player has won is often used to settle such debates.
Doncic, of course, has plenty of time to get his hands on a championship, and you’d imagine he will win one at some point. Not everyone is convinced that will happen, though.
Scottie Pippen thinks Doncic will never lead a team to the NBA Finals again. Pippen doesn’t believe his style of play is conducive to winning, but we have seen him go on two deep playoff runs by now.
Prior to leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, Doncic had taken them to the Western Conference Finals in 2022. So, it’s far too early to start dishing out hot takes about how 2024 was just a one-off.
Many of the all-time greats hadn’t won a championship at Doncic’s age, including LeBron James and Michael Jordan. It seems only a matter of time before he gets to the top of the mountain.
Doncic has looked like a man on a mission this season, too. Coming into Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, he is averaging 40.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the 7-2 Lakers.
You wouldn’t be surprised if this is the season Doncic finally wins MVP, as he is putting together a very strong case. As for the championship, well, it still seems unlikely that the Lakers will win it, but time will tell.
