The Los Angeles Lakers ended March with their 50th win of the season and a 15-2 record for the month - a stretch James Worthy says he cannot match in 22 years around the franchise. Spotlight TV's postgame crew unpacked how the make-or-break month became one of the most impressive runs in recent franchise memory.
"James G, I've been around this franchise 22 years in one capacity or another. I cannot remember a March where the Lakers played this well, and they needed it too," the show's lead host said. "Just a few weeks ago we were like, 'Gosh, are they going to finish sixth? Are they going to drop to the seventh, maybe in that dreaded play-in tournament?' And then they come up with a 15-and-2 record. It could have really tripped them up. I mean, it really was, in my mind, a make-or-break month, and they made it."
Worthy, the Hall of Famer who has watched the franchise from every angle, pinpointed the shift in mentality.
"That's what's impressed me the most over a period of time as we've watched the Lakers over the last several months. December, January, they would build these deficits and then they would have to spend a lot of energy trying to come from behind," Worthy said. "The new Laker mentality is you start from the beginning, have a defensive presence, and then if you run into a tight game you can pour it on, as they did in the second quarter."
The centerpiece of the run was Luka Doncic. He poured in 600 points in March - the second-highest single-month total in NBA history - while shooting better than 40 per cent from three. He also recorded his third straight 40-point game and became the third-youngest player to reach 15,000 career points.
Head coach JJ Redick refused to hedge when assessing the performance.
"I think Luka has had as good of a month as anybody that I can remember in modern NBA, at least since I've been part of it. Certainly LeBron has had those, Harden has had those, Steph has had those," Redick said. "He just played phenomenally this month."
The Spotlight host pushed back at any lingering criticism of Doncic's defense. "For all of those out there in the media who want to talk about defense and all that stuff, Luka's playing a complete game, or you're not watching. The three ball is falling. Another couple of steals tonight. James, absolutely magnificent."
Worthy compared Luka's place on the all-time scoring leaderboard to a list of players who carved out their own identities. "Really impressed with his defense after all that offense. And you look at that list of players that he just joined and they all have something unique about him. The way he does it is just as unique as the guys on that list. He has a style of his own. You can't speed him up."
The Spotlight host attributed the breakthrough to the three-point shot returning at a critical moment. "I think the three ball is really, really his champion right now. He didn't have confidence in it. Earlier in the season, it was frustrating him. And James, once he starts getting that shot going, he finished the month over 40 per cent from deep. And G, the fun factor is here. He's having a great time. We're really enjoying playing for each other right now."
Defensively, the Lakers also undertook one of the season's quietest transformations - from a bottom-10 unit to one capable of holding Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley to a combined 16 points.
"We talked about the Lakers defense a lot this entire season. The first three or four months it was like, what's wrong with this defense? You know, they're bottom-10 in defensive rating, and now, when we do talk about the defense, it is in a very positive light and deservedly so. When you hold Mitchell and Mobley to 16 combined points, you're really doing something special," the host said.
Worthy gave credit to DeAndre Ayton's renewed commitment, citing the centre's 18 points and nine rebounds against Cleveland.
"I think ever since he's had a meeting with himself a few weeks back and really tried to define what it is he has to do every night, he's been there for us on occasion," Worthy said. "But I think the last month or so he's really conjured up something that we haven't seen, and that's being present every night for his team, being physical."
Wing Jake LaRavia, given the start with Marcus Smart out, delivered a perfect shooting night (5-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from three) and a team-high plus-23 - while also stifling Donovan Mitchell early.
"You can tell JJ's probably been talking to him, or Nate McMillan saying, 'Hey, lockdown defender. Everything else will come. He has size. He has quickness. He's not afraid to stick his nose in there,'" Worthy said. "I think he slowed Donovan down early. Didn't give him anything easy."
Redick, who became the first Lakers head coach since Phil Jackson to win 50 games in back-to-back seasons, was modest about the formula.
"I think it was a confluence of things, starting with health," Redick said. "It's much easier when you have a consistent stretch of health to settle in to roles and minutes and rotations. We never found that throughout the season. The second part of roles is just guys really embracing things."
The reward for the month is a Thursday meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team Redick described as the standard in the West.
"They're great on both sides of the ball. They're going to make you work for things defensively because of how physical they are. They're really good at what they do, and they've been doing that now for five years and they know all the nuances, all the tricks. They know the timing of everything. They're just a tough team to guard," Redick said.
---
*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/lakers-march-turnaround-luka-doncic-600-points-worthy-redick-may-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
