Luka Doncic and his poor defense is a narrative the media loves the peddle, and it’s one he’s looking to change.
Doncic was impressive against the Raptors after dropping 45 points and six assists, to go with a huge defensive effort of 15 rebounds and five steals.
🔥 He has been a MONSTER defensively.
Not even 5 minutes in, Luka Doncic already forced 4 turnovers on the Raptors — 2 steals & 2 charges taken.
You want to talk defense media?? Let’s talk DEFENSE 🎙️ https://t.co/gWJHRE23tB
— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) November 2, 2026
He discussed the narrative about his defense following the win after he was asked why his defensive reputation hasn’t changed.
“Why? I don’t know,” Doncic said. “Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA. But I think this year I’m really taking a step forward. You know, obviously people are going to talk what they want to talk. The media is going to talk, what they want to talk, but I know, and my team knows, that I think I’m better this year and that helps the whole team, I think.”
The charges were what he was most happy with, even if it doesn’t show in the stats.
“Yeah, I mean, even last season, before last season, I had like maybe five charges in seven years or six years. So, you know, that gets everybody fired up,” he said. “It’s going to show in statistics, but not much. So, it gets the whole team fired up. I just wanted to get better at that, and two charges is not bad for one game.”
He added, “Look, people are gonna talk bad no matter what,” Doncic said. “So I’m just trying to focus on me and my team, what I can give to the team better. But like I said before, I think that I’ve made a huge step forward on both ends. So just gotta keep going like that.”
For one, teammate Walker Kessler praised Luka’s defense after the game.
“Was it five steals and three charges? Yeah, incredible,” Kessler said. “Incredible. Luka doesn’t get enough credit for his defense. He’s a very high IQ individual, when it comes to being on the court. So, his, positional defense, just being in the right spot at the right time is really good, and it showed tonight.”