Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is already one of the greatest international players of all time, and he landed in the top 10 in HoopsHype’s recently published rankings. HoopsHype listed the top 80 international players ever, and Doncic came in at No. 9.
“Put simply, Slovenian guard Luka Doncic is a special talent with a chance to enter GOAT conversations down the road thanks to his unbelievable mix of scoring and playmaking as well as rebounding from the lead-guard spot at his size. The Lakers superstar just won the second scoring title of his career last season, before injuries unfortunately cut his postseason short.
“Doncic has already won pretty much everything at the international level. He came close to duplicating that success in the NBA in 2024 with an unexpected run to the Finals with Dallas before falling short in the championship series. Doncic is also already showing he is working on his body and respecting his fitness level, which could mean we see an extended peak for the Real Madrid legend.”
FIBA accomplishments were considered in this ranking, but the focus was mostly on what the player did in the NBA.
In Doncic’s case, he has won two scoring titles and one Western Conference Finals MVP. The 27-year-old has also made six All-NBA First Teams and six All-Star teams.
Before coming to the NBA, Doncic won the EuroLeague with Real Madrid in 2018 and was named MVP of the competition as well. As for the international stage, he helped Slovenia win gold at EuroBasket in 2017.
It’s an impressive resume Doncic has, but there are others with greater ones. Here is a look at HoopsHype’s top 10.
1. Hakeem Olajuwon
2. Dirk Nowitzki
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
4. Nikola Jokic
5. Steve Nash
6. Pau Gasol
7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
8. Tony Parker
9. Luka Doncic
10. Joel Embiid
Every player in that top 10 has won an NBA title or been named regular-season MVP, except for Doncic. He’ll likely have to get his hands on one of those two to climb higher up.
While winning a championship might prove a bit difficult with the roster the Lakers have, Doncic does have a shot at winning MVP next season. It’s nearly a completely new roster around him, and if he can lead this group to one of the top seeds in the Western Conference, he’d be in the mix.
Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. Those are incredible numbers, but he only finished fourth in MVP voting.
Doncic has surprisingly only finished in the top three once, in 2024. He has been somewhat overlooked, but still refuses to campaign publicly for the award. Doncic lets his game do the talking for him, but it hasn’t resonated with voters the way it perhaps should have. Will things be different in 2027? Time will tell.
Getting back to that list, Hakeem Olajuwon deservedly sits at the top. Olajuwon won two titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, two DPOYs, two rebounding titles, and two blocks titles. He is a borderline top-10 player of all time.
As for that second spot, you could argue that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic are more deserving than Dirk Nowitzki. They all have one championship to their names, but the two active superstars have the edge in individual accolades.
Jokic has won three MVPs, while Antetokounmpo has won two MVPs and one DPOY. As for Nowitzki, he only won MVP once. The German was undoubtedly an incredible player, but Jokic and Antetokounmpo have definitely passed him.