The MVP race has reconfigured since January but by a handful of NBA veterans’ standards, Luka Doncic just isn’t making the cut. Despite putting consistently high volumes of numbers and leading All-Star votes, his impact on the Los Angeles Lakers just isn’t translating into the top individual honor. Perhaps what would sway Isiah Thomas would be a title. But right now, he doesn’t see Doncic taking the Lakers that far.

When he joined the guys on Run it Back once again, Zeke asserted that the race actually belongs to Victor Wembanyama and Jaylen Brown, two players who are by definition elevating their teams to championship contenders. “To me, right now, there’s only two guys that you can really say is the most valuable to their team… and that’s Wemby and Jaylen Brown,” Thomas stated.

While Zeke acknowledged that Doncic is capable of “dropping 50 and laughing in your face,” he remained skeptical about the Lakers’ ceiling. After a long and difficult stretch, the Lakers are on a late-season surge. Zeke is one of the cynics who don’t see that lasting into April and beyond.

“Anytime you have Luka on your team, you got a chance to win because he’s good enough to come in your building on a playoff night and upset you and your fans,” Zeke said.

He noted that while Jaylen Brown’s 30-point average in Jayson Tatum’s absence and Wembanyama’s historic impact in San Antonio have created a legitimate championship for the Celtics and Spurs – two teams who had been dismissed at the start of the season – Doncic’s impact on the Lakers doesn’t go that far. “Luka puts you in, ‘okay, we’re good in the playoffs, we’ve exceeded expectations,’ but we’re not talking about the Lakers winning the championship this year.”

Zeke is drawing a clear line between individual brilliance and team impact. Many feel Doncic’s high volume shot selection hamper LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Some of it seemingly stems from Doncic’s individual behavior, too.

Isiah Thomas sees lack of championship mentality in Luka Doncic

What has been souring veteran opinion about Luka Doncic is his constant lobbying (which is a mild way to put it) for calls. His relentless campaigning has successfully saved him from a one-game suspension once more by getting his 16th tech rescinded. But this trait has the NBA world divided.

Isiah Thomas outright told to Chandler Parsons’ face that “y’all a generation of whiners, too. Y’all whine a lot.” Chandler felt that in his bones, but he couldn’t deny it because of Doncic’s recent behavior.

To illustrate his point, he pointed toward the infamous “Phantom Foul” involving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Laimbeer in Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals. That single whistle cost Zeke and the Detroit Pistons a championship and a chance at the first three-peat of that era. However, Thomas underlines how the Bad Boys handled that situation and how it was uncommon in that era to mess the flow of a series by arguing with refs.

While it’s a bit of an exaggeration, there is a stark difference in comparison to Luka Doncic. He’s gained a reputation for having the most fouls rescinded. Zeke isn’t the only one who believes the 26-year-old’s constant “hollering at the referees” is a distraction from the championship poise required to win it all.