"He's in amateur mode at 25" - Gilbert Arenas makes bold claim about Luka Doncic's ceiling with Lakers

Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers have been on a roll since he arrived in town. The team boasts a 9-2 record following the trade, with Doncic averaging 23.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.9 steals during this stretch. The blockbuster trade shocked many, given Doncic's reputation as one of the best in the league right now.

The star from Slovenia is only 25 years old, meaning he still has a lot of time left in his career as a superstar and will only keep improving. Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas referred to Doncic as being in "amateur mode" on his show Gil's Arena, meaning that Doncic still is figuring out the game and hasn't even reached his prime yet:

"Just think about the upside of (Doncic). We're talking about a guy who's still in amateur mode. He's in amateur mode at 25, he's not in his prime, he's not even in the second phase of being good. He's still trying to figure this sh*t out... This is just him and his natural ability."

Doncic is coming off a season where he led his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games. Now with the Lakers, their strong performances as of late have positioned them as serious contenders for a deep postseason run.

Luka Doncic is part of an 8-game winning streak for the first time in his career

Luka Doncic spent the first six and a half seasons of his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks. Despite his brilliance, his team never managed to win eight or more consecutive games in a row. Doncic played 422 career games with the Mavs before being traded to the Lakers.

Now, Doncic has played 10 career games with the Lakers and has already managed to achieve that—an active eight-game winning streak, the first of his career, highlighting his immediate impact on the team's success.

The Lakers' current streak has skyrocketed them to the second seed in the Western Conference with a record of 40-21. The Lakers currently sit 11 games behind the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. With 21 games remaining for the Lakers and 19 for the Thunder, it is unlikely the Lakers will catch them.

However, Luka Doncic and the Lakers have made it known to the rest of the league that they're here in the mix and won't be going anywhere anytime soon.