‘24 Luka Doncic vs Peak LeBron (Playmaking)

[giordunk]

I sound like one of those old heads who wouldn't accept Stephen Curry being a better shooter than Ray Allen/Reggie Miller but LeBron is still quite untouchable IMO. Done it in all sorts of eras, across all sorts of coverages, different schemes, personnel, etc., I think 2020 LeBron was a masterclass in playmaking.

[Texas Chuck]

I don't think it matters who is better as of now. Luka shouldn't be at his peak playmaking wise yet so comparing him against fully realized Lebron puts him at a natural disadvantage.

But Luka has lapped the league for 4 years running now in both quantity and quality of looks created for teammates. In a league with Lebron, with Jokic, with Haliburton, etc... Hard to suggest he takes a major backseat to anyone in this regard. And he's literally got all the passes including a number of passes nobody else in the world is making.

If he's not quite peak Lebron, he's still gonna be okay....

[O_6]

LeBron is a more precise passer. I think it’s actually fairly clear. The power/accuracy he gets on his passes is legendary. I don’t think Luka is quite as clean on that regard.

But Luka’s slower movement actually allows him more options than LeBron who was a freight train going to the rim.

Luka being herky jerky with so much body positioning usage and the threat of a floater makes bigs go crazy. LeBron didn’t allow defenders to think with his quicker decision making. LeBron’s lack of a great floater is a big difference imo.

Luka just plays a slower game and it allows him to create unfair looking shots, but LeBron created more consistently great looks for his teammates. LeBron is also a much better standstill passer from all over the court which makes it tough to compare, even if Luka is a guy who I’d say is a better passer while attacking with the ball. Because LeBron moved so fast, he wasn’t as diverse in terms of passing/scoring mode as Luka. LeBron had already decided whereas Luka can decide late.

We’re talking 100 vs. 100 here, both awesome at this though. Luka is a little more creative and versatile as a driver, LeBron is a little more accurate and overwhelming overall.

[Heej]

LeBron is a more precise passer. I think it’s actually fairly clear. The power/accuracy he gets on his passes is legendary. I don’t think Luka is quite as clean on that regard.

But Luka’s slower movement actually allows him more options than LeBron who was a freight train going to the rim.

Luka being herky jerky with so much body positioning usage and the threat of a floater makes bigs go crazy. LeBron didn’t allow defenders to think with his quicker decision making. LeBron’s lack of a great floater is a big difference imo.

Luka just plays a slower game and it allows him to create unfair looking shots, but LeBron created more consistently great looks for his teammates. LeBron is also a much better standstill passer from all over the court which makes it tough to compare, even if Luka is a guy who I’d say is a better passer while attacking with the ball. Because LeBron moved so fast, he wasn’t as diverse in terms of passing/scoring mode as Luka. LeBron had already decided whereas Luka can decide late.

We’re talking 100 vs. 100 here, both awesome at this though. Luka is a little more creative and versatile as a driver, LeBron is a little more accurate and overwhelming overall.

Yea I've said this forever that as far as arm talent goes LeBron is in the elite of the elite tier. Only guy I've seen that had as much zip and accuracy on his passes as LeBron was Stockton. Luka has good pace and comparable accuracy on his passes as well but I think LeBron's ambidexterity got it.

Luka probably has better vision and court mapping though but technically I'll take LeBron as a passer better. He might have a leg up with prep time too, but both are honestly geniuses and knowing what play to run vs a specific coverage isn't quite rocket science.

Think it comes down to whether you think the advantages LeBron has physically (pace on passes, first step, ambidexterity) outweighs the mental advantage Luka has in terms of court mapping and processing speed.

[Lebronnygoat]

LeBron is a more precise passer. I think it’s actually fairly clear. The power/accuracy he gets on his passes is legendary. I don’t think Luka is quite as clean on that regard.

But Luka’s slower movement actually allows him more options than LeBron who was a freight train going to the rim.

Luka being herky jerky with so much body positioning usage and the threat of a floater makes bigs go crazy. LeBron didn’t allow defenders to think with his quicker decision making. LeBron’s lack of a great floater is a big difference imo.

Luka just plays a slower game and it allows him to create unfair looking shots, but LeBron created more consistently great looks for his teammates. LeBron is also a much better standstill passer from all over the court which makes it tough to compare, even if Luka is a guy who I’d say is a better passer while attacking with the ball. Because LeBron moved so fast, he wasn’t as diverse in terms of passing/scoring mode as Luka. LeBron had already decided whereas Luka can decide late.

We’re talking 100 vs. 100 here, both awesome at this though. Luka is a little more creative and versatile as a driver, LeBron is a little more accurate and overwhelming overall.

Yea I've said this forever that as far as arm talent goes LeBron is in the elite of the elite tier. Only guy I've seen that had as much zip and accuracy on his passes as LeBron was Stockton. Luka has good pace and comparable accuracy on his passes as well but I think LeBron's ambidexterity got it.

Luka probably has better vision and court mapping though but technically I'll take LeBron as a passer better. He might have a leg up with prep time too, but both are honestly geniuses and knowing what play to run vs a specific coverage isn't quite rocket science.

Think it comes down to whether you think the advantages LeBron has physically (pace on passes, first step, ambidexterity) outweighs the mental advantage Luka has in terms of court mapping and processing speed.

Luka was more mentally built in playmaking than 2013 LeBron and 2017/20 LeBron????? C’mon now