og15 wrote:CloudWalker wrote:lambchop wrote:
Gaining weight will diminish that traditional athleticism. "Fat don't fly" is a real thing.
Why are people trying to rewrite history? Luka has never been considered "traditionally athletic". Never. It was the main reason he was selected 3rd in the draft.
There have always been question marks around his athleticism, he simply immediately proved that these limitations didn't matter since he was just so, so good and able to overcome them with his insane play. Luka has never been good because of his athleticism, it's other things that have made him one of the best offensive players in the league over the last 5 years.
Example from a scouting report, pre 2018 draft:At 6-foot-8, Doncic has ideal size. He’s versatile enough to play both guard positions, though many think he will transform into a full-time point guard in the NBA. He’s an excellent playmaker. Arguably his best trait is his ability to orchestrate in a half-court set using his superb vision, instincts and high basketball IQ. While he’s not very athletic or agile, and has little to no explosion off the bounce, Doncic is one of the craftiest prospects we’ve seen in a while. Like current NBA players such as James Harden, Evan Fournier and Manu Ginobili, Doncic has remarkably good footwork. He’s so shifty and unpredictable that defenders have a hard time anticipating his movements.
There are concerns about his lack of athleticism and sprightliness, though. He doesn’t slide his feet well laterally, which could make it easy for opponents to play him one-on-one when he’s on an island defensively. Also, though he has unlimited range and good mechanics, Doncic is a streaky long-distance shooter. He’s much more consistent shooting off the bounce and will sometimes settle for inefficient shots if he can’t shake his defender.
Link:https://www.nba.com/magic/2018-draft-prospects-luka-doncic
Another:Doncic has below average athleticism and will have a big adjustment to make playing against NBA size and speed. There are a lot of questions about who he’ll guard at the next level. He projects as an average defender at best, and possibly a liability on D.
Doncic doesn’t have great foot speed and could struggle to get to the rim against NBA defenders, and his lack of jumping ability will make it hard to score in traffic. He’s got a solid frame but one that is compact, heavy and lacks length.
Can be a little bit sloppy with the ball and needs to tighten up his handles and make better decisions with the ball to avoid careless turnovers.
Can be a streaky shooter, especially from downtown.
Link: https://nbadraftroom.com/luka-doncic-nba-draft-scouting-report/
I could find more examples, these are just the first two sources I found. I'm sure other reports were similar though, I was really into the 2018 draft and I remember various narratives around Luka very well.
Would anyone else but Divac with his agenda have passed on Luka at 2nd? Not sure about main reason.
Luka was never considered "traditionally athletic", he had athleticism, but he was not a jump out of the gym blazing speed athlete at any point and trying to suggest he was is very odd and makes ones observation abilities very questionable.
Sure, the bolded is more of an assumption on my part, but his lack of "traditional athleticism" was constantly brough up in draft reports and discussions so I wouldn't be surprised if it contributed to him not being drafted #1 or #2. But yeah, who knows what the actual reason was.
My point was just that he has never been considered super athletic and my view of him is very much in line with what's described in OP's article. And I agree with your as well.
