The first full season of Luka Doncic on the Los Angeles Lakers is expected to be a leading storyline for much of the year. The 26-year-old, formerly of the Dallas Mavericks, has been consistently ranked as one of the best players in the league, and now a member of one of the league’s most renowned teams, many predict Doncic to make a big impact.
Before last season, the Slovenian had finished in the top five in MVP voting from 2022 to 2024. Now entering his maiden full season in Los Angeles, Doncic has been picked by many as the next MVP winner.
Tim Hardaway, former point guard and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was the latest to make that prediction.
“You know what? A lot of people are gonna be surprised,” Hardaway said in an exclusive interview with Action Network. “He actually should have probably won it one time, but I’m gonna go with Luka Doncic.”
After undergoing a weight loss and body transformation, signing his contract extension with the Lakers, leading Slovenia in the EuroBasket Tournament, and now an MVP hopeful, Doncic has been making headlines all offseason.
Tim Hardaway Picks Luka Doncic As His 2025-26 MVP
Hardaway, who played a majority of his Hall of Fame career with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, made it clear that he has high expectations for Doncic next season. The former point guard said if the Lakers are winning, their new star will have a strong case for the award.
“I think that if he has a really, really good year. If he has a good year like he normally has and they end up in the upper echelons,” Hardaway said. “1-4 seed. Right around there. I think he has a really, really, really good chance of winning MVP. He should have won it probably about two years ago. But he didn’t win it.”
Doncic’s career average of 28.62 points per game is the third-highest in NBA history, behind only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. In the 2023-24 season Hardaway mentioned, Doncic finished with a career-high and league-leading 33.9 points per game, yet finished third in MVP voting behind winner Nikola Jokic and runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
While Doncic has been known for his isolation scoring and playmaking, in part to his 6’8″ size and big frame, Hardaway also believes the Lakers star’s recent weight loss won’t affect his play style on offense, but could change the way he is attacked on defense.
“He’s that talented. But he still gotta do other stuff. Just because you lose weight, he’s still gonna be the same Luka,” Hardaway added. “This is the NBA. You’re still gonna have to keep your feet in front of people. They are still gonna go at you. Just ’cause you lost weight, they don’t believe that you could play defense now.”
Doncic remains a top-MVP favorite by multiple outlets.
The HOFer On The Doncic, Davis Trade
Speaking of the recent past of Doncic rather than the future, Hardaway also commented on the monumental trade that sent the star to the Lakers for a package around Anthony Davis.
While the months after the trade were somber for Mavericks fans and were exacerbated by Kyrie Irving‘s ACL tear, Hardaway said things now look a bit brighter in Dallas, specifically after the 2025 NBA Draft.
“It worked out very well. You trade one of the top five guys in the NBA. And then get number one pick – who ever thought that would happen?”
Though the team might be considered a stronger candidate at making another run to the Finals if Doncic were still in Dallas, the Hall of Fame point guard feels confident about the team now that they have the first overall pick, Cooper Flagg.
“This guy’s a great talent. I think he’s going to grow. He got the mind level to grow as a really good basketball player. But you gotta remember, he’s a rookie. He’s only 18, 19 years old. He’s coming in,” Hardaway said. “If they stay healthy, they can contend in the West for a Championship. But they gotta stay healthy, because I like the pieces that they have.”
While Doncic now enters his first full season with the Lakers as an MVP candidate, the new-look Mavericks will now move forward, hoping Flagg can take the mantle as the franchise star in Dallas and lead them to similar or greater success.
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