Channing Frye isn’t buying the idea that Luka Doncic can keep doing things the same way and still end up with a championship ring.
On the latest episode of Channing’s Mailbag, the former NBA big man said he believes Doncic will win a title someday, but not with the same high-usage, physical style that has defined his game so far.
“I think Luka will win a championship,” Frye said. “I do not think that he will win with that style of play and high usage rate.
He needs a team around him, sure, but he plays physical and is usually beat up by the time. Did he miss his one chance?
No. I just think something’s going to come around where Luka got to come to grips with like, that’s not what is going to win.
“Luka’s greatness is not better than OKC or San Antonio or New York or Philly, no matter how great Luka is individually,” Frye continued. “So you got to build a team around him where he trusts and can get off the rock a little bit more.”
That skepticism is nothing new. Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen has also wondered whether Doncic can get back to the NBA Finals with the way he plays. The Lakers star has already taken a team to the Finals once, leading the Dallas Mavericks there in 2024 before they lost in five games to the Boston Celtics.
The last two seasons have not gone the way Doncic would have wanted. Since that Finals trip, he and the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the first round in 2025, then he missed the Western Conference Semifinals in 2026 with a grade 2 left hamstring strain as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept Los Angeles.
At 27, Doncic still has plenty of runway left. Frye, who spent time alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sees the path to another title as tied to one thing: change.
The numbers still show just how central Doncic is to everything the Lakers do. His 36.0% usage rate led the NBA in the 2025-26 season, even while sharing the floor with James and Austin Reaves last year.
The question is whether that ever really changes. Doncic has shown some comfort playing off the ball, but that’s not the role he naturally lives in. And with a Finals appearance already on his resume, plus a Western Conference Finals run in 2022, he has every reason to believe another breakthrough is still coming.
Frye also made it clear he doesn’t love what the Lakers have around him right now. He said the team needs to build a group Doncic trusts, but he isn’t impressed with the roster Los Angeles put together this offseason. In his Western Conference rankings, he had the Lakers sitting eighth.
That’s a harsh view, especially with Doncic in the middle of it all. He put up 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in 2025-26, production that makes it hard to write off Los Angeles completely.
If Doncic stays healthy, the Lakers should still be good enough to land in the top six in the West and avoid the play-in. He’s that level of player. But until he proves this version of the Lakers can actually go all the way, the conversation around his style - and whether it can win at the highest level - isn’t going away.
In Other News...
Luka Doncics New Lakers Role Could Lead To Something Huge
With LeBron James gone, Luka Doncic is headed into next season with a very different kind of runway in Los Angeles. Around the league, that shift has already sparked talk about how much more of the offense will run through him, especially after Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon revisited Doncics chances of adding another scoring title to a resume that already includes two in the past three seasons.
The question is not whether Doncic can pile up points, but how the Lakers want that volume to look over a full season. Windhorst and MacMahon pointed to his scoring last year, his style of play and the ongoing conversation around his conditioning as the key pieces in that equation, which is why this role change feels like more than just a roster adjustment. If it all clicks, Los Angeles could be looking at a version of Doncic that puts him in the middle of something much bigger than a simple scoring chase. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Could Be Pulled Into A Familiar Luka Doncic Trade Twist
The Lakers have kept working the edges of their roster this offseason, bringing in Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney while still looking for another center through either a trade or a signing. Even with those additions, the bigger picture remains unsettled, because the frontcourt still has questions and the power forward spot has not been firmly sorted out. That has left Los Angeles open to all kinds of trade ideas as it tries to build something sturdier around its top options.
One possibility under discussion would send PJ Washington into the mix, a move that would give the Lakers another starting-caliber piece while also putting Luka Doncic back in touch with a familiar former teammate. For a team trying to balance fit, size, and lineup clarity, it is the sort of proposal that makes sense on paper even if plenty has to happen before it becomes real. For now, the Lakers are still hunting for the right frontcourt answer, and the market around them keeps offering reminders that one more move could change the look of the whole group. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Kessler May Fix The Lakers Problem Luka Needs Solved
After locking in Austin Reaves on a four-year, $185 million deal, the Lakers kept working on the roster around Luka Doncic by adding Walker Kessler from the Jazz in a sign-and-trade. It is a clear attempt to sharpen the teams frontcourt after last seasons need for more reliable play at center, with Kessler arriving as the kind of defensive presence Los Angeles has been chasing.
For a team built around Doncics ability to bend defenses, the fit is obvious on paper. Kessler is seen as a potential upgrade in the middle and a cleaner complement to a star who can create offense at a high level, but the real question is how quickly the Lakers can turn a long-standing weakness into something dependable enough to matter when the games tighten up. [Read more 🡒]