Discussions concerning the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season frequently link the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.
The connection stems from the blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas and brought Luka Doncic to LA.
With Davis now in a Mavericks uniform, the Lakers are looking to build around a new core led by Doncic and LeBron James.
Since that deal, comparisons between Doncic and Davis have become a regular topic among fans and analysts alike.
Luka Doncic vs Anthony Davis: Mike Bresnahan weighs in
The trade effectively exchanged the Lakers’ and Mavericks’ future prospects. Doncic now represents a strong long-term potential for Los Angeles.
On the other hand, the Mavs did select Cooper Flagg with the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but at this moment, 32-year-old Davis is clearly their main piece.
On an episode of Lakeshow, NBA analyst Mike Bresnahan compared the two players:
“First of all, how young is your team, and how good is your team? Obviously, a lot of people are saying Luka’s the more complete player than Anthony Davis.
“You get a player who, to me, is indeed a neck ahead of AD and six years younger. Boom, that’s going to help your ratings overnight”, he said.
LA Lakers climb to eighth in ESPN’s future power rankings
Bresnahan was reacting to ESPN’s future power rankings, where the Lakers made a jump to eighth place.
That is a significant rise from their previous position at 21. Reflecting on the change, Bobby Marks highlighted why the Lakers moved up so much.
“Even with LeBron James’ future unclear, the Lakers still moved up 13 spots from the last ranking.
“The considerable jump is largely because of trading for Luka Doncic in February and then extending the All-NBA guard in August,” wrote the commentator.
Doncic recently signed a three-year, $165 million extension, something that Marks said brought stability and reassurance about where things are headed.
“The security of having Doncic under contract for at least the next three seasons, the attraction of the Los Angeles market, and significant cap space in the next two seasons have the Lakers positioned well.”
The Mavericks have slipped from fifth to sixteenth in those same rankings since last season.
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