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Derek Fisher refutes narrative that Luka Doncic can't win NBA title

While Luka Doncic is regarded by many, if not most, people as one of the five greatest basketball players on the planet right now, plenty of people have expressed doubts that a team led by him can win the NBA championship.

Critics point to his underwhelming man-to-man defense, his extremely high usage rate (he's the NBA's all-time career leader in that category) and his tendency to complain to referees as reasons he allegedly can't lead a team to basketball's grand prize. But Derek Fisher, a man who won five rings with the Lakers alongside the late great Kobe Bryant, said on 97.1 The Fan that he believes in Doncic's ability to earn the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

“The short answer is yes,” Fisher said when asked if he can lead L.A. to an NBA title. “Congratulations to Luka on the All-NBA First Team. He slowly worked his way up the MVP conversation late. The post-All-Star break run he was on prior to the injury was, yeah, there was another level of basketball that he was playing. Not just the scoring, but I thought his defense was improving.

“He’s always been able to make his teammates better -- some of the passes that he makes. His court mapping and spatial awareness in terms of where his teammates are, where the defense is, how to anticipate defensive rotations — it’s next level. He’s definitely the type of player that you can win with in terms of winning a championship. I think guys enjoy playing with him. You need a superstar that can elevate his teammates either through -- Michael [Jordan] did it through force. You had to get to Michael’s level. Kobe [Bryant] had some of that energy as well, but other guys, Magic [Johnson] did it differently…

“Luka has a lot of that energy about him. I think the Lakers will be able to get free agents and guys to come and play here with Luka and his style of play.”

Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game this season and was fourth in the voting for the MVP award. He is 27 years of age and has entered the prime of his career, and he's at the point in his career where he's probably ready to make a real run at the world championship as long as he has enough support around him.

The Lakers need a couple more complementary pieces around him, especially in terms of athleticism, defense and 3-point shooting. But during his time with the Dallas Mavericks, he proved he can get his team to overachieve during the playoffs, especially when he led a fifth-seeded Mavs team to the NBA Finals just two years ago.

The time is now for Doncic and the Lakers, and it may only be a matter of making the right personnel moves starting this summer.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Derek Fisher refutes narrative that Luka Doncic can't win NBA title

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