Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic is making a concious effort to become a better defender this season, he said, after a 131-125 win against the Toronto Raptors. While not everyone's buying into the early MVP hype surrounding Doncic, he's well aware of his defensive shortcomings. He also finished with five steals and one block in a game where Luka led all scorers with 45 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including eight threes.

Doncic addressed his defense when a reporter asked him why he doesn't get enough credit for his defense, per The Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner.

“Why? I don’t know,” he responded. “Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year I really took a step forward. Obviously, people are going to talk what they want to talk [about] me. … But I know, and my team knows, that I think I’m better this year. And that helps the whole team, I think.”

So would he rather win the NBA’s most valuable player award, defensive player of the year award or both?

Doncic paused and smiled.

“Both,” he said, laughing. “You guys vote for that.”

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Luka Doncic and the Lakers responded to coughing up a 25-point lead in their 17-point loss to the Warriors by beating the Raptors. Doncic stuffed the stat sheet with a whopping 45 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Winning always matters in the NBA, especially for a player with hopes of winning MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season.

Sure, Doncic's eye-popping stat line against the Raptors strengthens his case, as does the seven-point win against Toronto. The Lakers (5-2) have the fourth-best record in the Western Conference standings. They'll look to improve to 6-2 when they host the Miami Heat on Monday.