On February 2, the Los Angeles Lakers made the most stunning trade not only of the season, but arguably in NBA history. They sent nine-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka DonÄiÄ, already named to the All-NBA first team five times at age 25. (DonÄiÄ turned 26 about three weeks later).
In DonÄiÄ the Lakers got an elite scorer whose 12,878 career points rank him 21st on the all-time list for any player over the first seven years of an NBA career. But they also got a serious defensive liability who, according to one analyst, cost the Lakers 41 points in Wednesday’s first-round Game Five against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference playoffs.
Lakers Eliminated Despite Poor Minnesota Shooting
The Lakers, who won 50 regular season games to take the third seed in the West, lost that game 103-96 despite Minnesota’s shooting struggles from deep. The Timberwolves sank only seven of 47 three-point attempts for a sickly 14.9 percent. Overall, Minnesota shot 40.4 percent to 42.3 for the Lakers.
The loss gave the sixth-seeded T-Wolves an upset victory in the series, and ended the Lakers hopes of capturing an 18th championship banner, and the second and likely final ring of the Lebron James era in Los Angeles. James joined the team in the 2018-2019 season. He led the Lakers to a championship in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, in which the playoffs and final regular season games were played in a “bubble” â on courts with no spectators inside Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
According to basketball analyst and educator Mike Jagacki of the basketball education site LockdownHoops.com, the real problem for the Lakers in Game Five came on he defensive end where DonÄiÄ turned in “one of the worst defensive performances I’ve ever watched in a must-win playoff game.”
Jagacki’s analysis of game film from Wednesday’s game revealed, he said in an online video, that DonÄiÄ “gave up 41 points. No second efforts. No on-ball presence. Constant breakdowns.”
But the analysis was not simply one man’s opinion. DonÄiÄ has long had a reputation for poor conditioning and halfhearted defensive effort. At the time of the February 2 trade, an ESPN report showed that over the previous two seasons, “DonÄiÄ has allowed a 44.7 percent blow-by rate as the primary defender on drives, the highest in the league during that span.”
DonÄiÄ ‘Can’t Guard a Chair’ Says NBA Hall of Famer
Not only does the native of Slovenia make little attempt to stop ballhandlers from driving past him to the basket, his effort is lacking up and down the floor, according to the numbers published by ESPN.
“He has spent just 2.8 percent of his on-court minutes moving at high speed, tied for the second-lowest rate in the league,” according to the ESPN report. “He has also never played more than 72 games in a season.”
DonÄiÄ played just 50 regular season games between Mavericks and the Lakers in the 2024-2025 season. His defensive rating â that is, points allowed per 100 possessions â in the five-game playoff series was 116.3.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, speaking on the TNT Inside the NBA broadcast, echoed Jagacki’s analysis, though in more blunt, layman’s terms.
âLuka canât guard a chair. Gotta get in better shape too,” Barkley declared. “You gotta get in shape to earn that money. He can’t guard anybody.”
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