Lakers’ Luka Doncic bizarrely not among last-second shot-takers in NBA

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers took their second straight loss with a home defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic. Luka Doncic had a chance to win this one late, but ended up picking up his dribble and passing the ball to teammate LeBron James, who saw his desperation heave miss off the rim.

Doncic later took accountability for the mistake, which countered his reputation as one of the NBA’s most lethal performers in the clutch. In fact, Doncic has bizarrely not shown up in the clutch with any consistency for the past two seasons, dating back to his time with the Dallas Mavericks.

“Over the last two seasons, 207 NBA players have made a shot to tie or go-ahead in the final minute of a game,” per Stathead, via Tom Haberstroh on X, formerly Twitter. “Luka Doncic is not among those 207 players. Tuesday night’s bizarre grenade to LeBron is no aberration.”

Doncic has made several big plays at the buzzer throughout his career, including his shot to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the 2024 Western Conference Finals, but that trend has tapered off significantly over the last two years, which is hard to explain.

The Slovenian star can get his shot off against most any defender in the league, and has a vast array of moves at his disposal that he can use to get to his spots. The Lakers for the most part have been elite in close games this season, which goes a long way in explaining their solid record despite a mediocre net rating, so Doncic’s clutch shortcomings haven’t been impacting the team much, outside of the loss against the Magic.

However, Los Angeles will certainly want Doncic taking and making those last-second shots once the playoffs roll around.

The Lakers will next take the floor on Thursday evening vs the Phoenix Suns on the road.

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