Luka Dončić is the NBA’s Top Defensive Weapon
Luka Dončić has taken the league by storm to begin the season. He’s always been one of the NBA’s premier talents, but this season feels like an entirely different beast. The offensive side of the ball has never been an issue for Luka Dončić, but the defensive side of the ball has rarely been his calling card.
‘Cone’ has definitely been thrown around when discussing his defensive capabilities, but truthfully, there’s always been a bit more to Luka’s defense than meets the eye.
Regardless of the truth, it will forever be difficult for Dončić to shake his defensive reputation. All he can do is keep working, and he’s doing just that. This new defensive stat to come out this year proves how effective he’s been on that end.
Luka Dončić is Playing Lights Out Defense
Recently on Twitter/X, everyone was making a large deal of LeBron James holding opponents to an extremely low FG% at his age. In fairness to James, it is impressive what he’s doing. What most people failed to recognize was that Luka Dončić was even better.
So far through this young season, Luka Dončić leads the entire NBA in 2PT defensive FG%. He leads the statistics with an outlandishly low 21.9%.
SURPRISE LEADER ON DEFENSE: LUKA DONČIĆ
Opponents have made only 21.9% of their two-point attempts against Luka Dončić this season. No player in the league has allowed a lower mark among those who have defended at least 30 of them.
The top 10:
Luka Dončić: 21.9%
Miles Bridges: 23.3%
LeBron James: 30.3%
Donovan Clingan: 36.7%
Ronald Holland II: 36.7%
Victor Wembanyama: 38.3%
Ausar Thompson: 38.7%
Quenton Jackson: 40.0%
Kel’el Ware: 40.5%
Michael Porter Jr.: 41.0%The NBA’s leading scorer is also the hardest player to score on inside the arc.
Source: https://t.co/eSQMfEFslv (opponent 2PT FG%, min. 30 two-point attempts defended)
— Neil Bullock (@lakeshowmnl) November 4, 2026
Dončić finds himself higher on the list than defenders like Kel’el Ware, Ausar Thompson, and even Victor Wembanyama. As the above tweet mentions, he’s not just the NBA’s leading scorer; he’s the toughest defender to score on inside the three-point line.
If you want to say that Luka Dončić is a hothead who could talk to the officials a little less, that would be fair. If you want to say he could foul bait a little less, that would also be fair. One thing you can’t say anymore if you’re being genuine, however, is that Luka Dončić is not a good defender.
