Luka Doncic is the best player in the nba

[TheBonzaiEffect]

Uhh...Lowry was an all-star last year. And Siakin is now a top 15 player. Dirk literally had zero all-star teammates. Not even sure he had a top 50 teammate, to be honest.

Lowry was an All-Star in the East, and Siakam was nowhere near on his current level back then.

Kawhi's playoff-run is definitely the closest thing we've seen since Dirk.

Siakim is nowhere near what he was way back 6 months ago?

Obviously he's improved, but it's not like he magically became this good overnight. He was still really damn good last year...just wasn't a first option.

[Drygon]

Lowry was an All-Star in the East, and Siakam was nowhere near on his current level back then.

Kawhi's playoff-run is definitely the closest thing we've seen since Dirk.

Siakim is nowhere near what he was way back 6 months ago?

Obviously he's improved, but it's not like he magically became this good overnight. He was still really damn good last year...just wasn't a first option.

Siakam's level of improvement is completely unprecedented. 3 years ago, he was just a rotation player who avg. 4 ppg.

Today, he's an legit MVP caliber player.

Before this season started, most people were skeptical about how good Siakam actually was after that max contract he got.

[Pablo Escobar]

I remember in the offseason a mavs fan said that Luka would put up 28 10 8 numbers ( could be a bit off) in his prime. Who would've thought he would do it in his second season?.. this kid is a beast! Phx, Sacramento and Atl wtf were yall thinking!?

[Theocy]

This dudes name is getting really annoying around here. I'd like to see him have a great career too, but wake me up when he does something amazing in the playoffs.

The thing I find annoying is people acting like anything short of calling him the greatest prospect of all time going into the draft wasn't paying attention. Luka went 3rd. There was a ton of hype behind him. There was a ton of hype going into the season. And there is a ton of hype now. You would think he was an undrafted FA.

On paper he is one one of the best prospects of all times. Manhandled euroleague teams at the age of 18 and did an excellent job at international level same age. Ncaa is good but not euroleague level good (much higher ceiling players on average, much lower floor players on average).
Not saying he will become top 10 of all times but the kid means business. What is annoying was people pretty much describing him as a slow fat dum dum who won't be better than hezonja or Rubio. What is more annoying is people saying he isn't anything special until he proves himself in postseason. Those people are just salty. Name one young star who has a proven post season track record. Lonzo? Brown? Zion? Tatum? Ayton?Anthony Davis? Who? Just the mental gymnastics to play down this guy...

Oh and no I don't think he is the best player in the league. I would easily rank him top 10 at the moment numbers wise. Would i take him over anyone else right now to build a team around? Yes I would.

[gmoney411]

This dudes name is getting really annoying around here. I'd like to see him have a great career too, but wake me up when he does something amazing in the playoffs.

The thing I find annoying is people acting like anything short of calling him the greatest prospect of all time going into the draft wasn't paying attention. Luka went 3rd. There was a ton of hype behind him. There was a ton of hype going into the season. And there is a ton of hype now. You would think he was an undrafted FA.

On paper he is one one of the best prospects of all times. Manhandled euroleague teams at the age of 18 and did an excellent job at international level same age. Ncaa is good but not euroleague level good (much higher ceiling players on average, much lower floor players on average).
Not saying he will become top 10 of all times but the kid means business. What is annoying was people pretty much describing him as a slow fat dum dum who won't be better than hezonja or Rubio. What is more annoying is people saying he isn't anything special until he proves himself in postseason. Those people are just salty. Name one young star who has a proven post season track record. Lonzo? Brown? Zion? Tatum? Ayton?Anthony Davis? Who? Just the mental gymnastics to play down this guy...

Oh and no I don't think he is the best player in the league. I would easily rank him top 10 at the moment numbers wise. Would i take him over anyone else right now to build a team around? Yes I would.

Every player to ever play the game has doubters. Those doubters weren't really NBA teams though. He went third and probably would have went second if Vlade wasn't the guy picking second. Nobody was really sleeping on Luka. He went higher than both of the euro players you listed. And there were ridiculous downplay comparisons for LeBron when he came out too. They exist for every player.

And Luka isn't one of the best products on paper of all time. You can't be that without great athleticism/ridiculous height while also not being a great defender. His euroleague accomplishments are looked down on by some people because Luka isn't great just on paper because he lacks those things.

[SecondTake]

Lots of us considered WB the best in the nba his triple double season. He was the best

Luka is an absolute mythic beast, no doubt, but there's more to being the best in the game than averages.

You mean like being top 5 in most major offensive categories and leading the Mavs to fifth place in the west on an at best mediocre roster so far with a struggling co-star? That kind of "more"?

The same reason why Magic was considered better than MJ in the 1980's.

The same reason why no one considers Harden the best player in the league.

The same reason why no one considered Westbrook the best player in the league even after averaging 30/10/10.

The same reason why no one considered Kawhi the best player in the league until after the postseason.

That's the "more".

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

[Jamaaliver]

How the Mavericks Unlocked Luka Doncic’s MVP Potential

Rick Carlisle has found a way to maximize his young star’s strengths—and he didn’t have to change a thing about the 20-year-old’s game



Luka Doncic is having a moment. The 20-year-old has turned himself into an MVP candidate in just his second season in the NBA, leading the Mavs to a tie for fourth place in the West and the best offensive rating (116.0) in league history. It was only a few weeks ago that the Mavs were scuffling at 6-5, with two losses to the lowly Knicks. The team has changed but Doncic hasn’t. He has been the same player the whole time. Carlisle has adjusted his rotation accordingly so that the players who don’t need the ball play more with Luka.

Everything in Dallas revolves around Luka’s ability to dominate the ball. He leads the league in touches, at 98.8 per game. LeBron and Nikola Jokic are the only other players this season at more than 91. And Luka’s average amount of time with the ball per game (9.2 minutes) is almost as much as LeBron and Jokic combined (10.8). No NBA player has touched the ball as much as Luka in the past six seasons. It’s not an easy style for the players orbiting him to get used to. He sucks up all the oxygen on offense. A player averaging a near triple-double (30.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 9.6 assists per game) doesn’t leave many points, rebounds, or assists for everyone else.

But the Mavs’ biggest issue might be their reliance on their young MVP candidate. There’s a blessing and a curse that comes with a ball-dominant perimeter player. A team that relies on one player to do everything doesn’t have a Plan B when he can’t. There are more than a few similarities between Doncic and James Harden, and Harden’s teams have always fallen short in the postseason because they haven’t had a second star who could take some of the pressure off him.

Spoiler:

The Clippers overloaded their defense on Luka and hounded him all over the floor, holding him to 4-of-14 shooting with seven turnovers. And because so much of Porzingis’s and Hardaway’s offense comes from playing off him, the two combined to score only 23 points on 7-of-21 shooting.

Doncic could go on to win multiple MVPs over his career. But there’s also a reason the league’s MVP has won an NBA title only five times since the turn of the millennium. The award usually goes to the star player on an elite team with the least amount of help, a formula that works better in the regular season than the playoffs.

The Ringer

[Vibranium]

Jesus Christ.

[AdagioPace]

Jesus Doncic Christ.

[Ugly Duckling]

He def has the potential to take the reins, but rn I'd say he's top 10

[TheBonzaiEffect]

He def has the potential to take the reins, but rn I'd say he's top 10

Top 10? How generous.

[DingleJerry]

I have no idea how professional scouts, GMs, coaches, basketball gurus, etc could watch him in person and walk away thinking he's not the #1 pick. I get how jabronis like us on the internet who just see highlight reels wouldn't know or would be skeptical. But to see him in full games, practices, workouts etc and not realize what they had on their hands is shocking to me.

I made a similar comment regarding OKC and Harden years ago. I recall the night of the trade saying to someone how I thought he was good but I didn't know if was thaaat good to go and be the star/man. OKC saw him every day in practice and games for years, how did they not realize what they had. I see how people like us would not know it, but no excuse for them.

[marco102]

I remember in the offseason a mavs fan said that Luka would put up 28 10 8 numbers ( could be a bit off) in his prime. Who would've thought he would do it in his second season?.. this kid is a beast! Phx, Sacramento and Atl wtf were yall thinking!?

Thinking they traded a player who averages 30/10/10 for a player who averages 28/4/8. You guys act like Trae's not having a historic sophmore season in his own right, but I digress.

[pr0wler]

29.9 ppg, 10.4rpg, 9.7 assists Per game and the Mavs being the surprise team sitting 5th in the Western conference with a relatively crappy roster outside of Doncic and Porzingis! This kid is extraterrestrial

This is a textbook example of "buying high" in terms of market psychology.

[pr0wler]

Why don't teams play off Luka more? He could still improve, but he hasn't really shown he can hit the 3-Point shot at a high percentage. Just enough to keep him honest, sure, but he's no Klay Thompson from range by any means. I'd start daring him to shoot a bit more and don't let him get into the paint where he can do his fancy tricks and get close range 2 point shots or create for teammates effectively.

[SF_Warriors]

29.9 ppg, 10.4rpg, 9.7 assists Per game and the Mavs being the surprise team sitting 5th in the Western conference with a relatively crappy roster outside of Doncic and Porzingis! This kid is extraterrestrial

This is a textbook example of "buying high" in terms of market psychology.

That is assuming Luka is anywhere near his peak. He is 20 years old with what is basically a rag tag supporting cast. How many players can you say at 20-21 years old was their best years in the league? He has room for growth, amazingly enough, and so does the team around him.

Now, one can argue that his current level of play cannot be sustained by a 20 year old. And based on his supporting cast, one could argue that their level of play will level off as well. So yea, maybe for this season we are buying high on luka..but I disagree if we are talking about his career.

[zonedefense]

Why don't teams play off Luka more? He could still improve, but he hasn't really shown he can hit the 3-Point shot at a high percentage. Just enough to keep him honest, sure, but he's no Klay Thompson from range by any means. I'd start daring him to shoot a bit more and don't let him get into the paint where he can do his fancy tricks and get close range 2 point shots or create for teammates effectively.

He is shooting 33% from 3 taking the most difficult shot possible. Don´t think giving him more space is going to help.

[DCRYsing89]

29.9 ppg, 10.4rpg, 9.7 assists Per game and the Mavs being the surprise team sitting 5th in the Western conference with a relatively crappy roster outside of Doncic and Porzingis! This kid is extraterrestrial

This season play wise I would still be taking Bron or Giannis
They are also actually positives on Defense...

But damn this kid is playing good

[blind prophet]

I'm still upset Vlade didn't draft him, but I enjoy seeing a thread like this on a daily basis to rub that mistake in. Hope it continues for the rest of the season.

[jourdy]

29.9 ppg, 10.4rpg, 9.7 assists Per game and the Mavs being the surprise team sitting 5th in the Western conference with a relatively crappy roster outside of Doncic and Porzingis! This kid is extraterrestrial

This season play wise I would still be taking Bron or Giannis
They are also actually positives on Defense...

But damn this kid is playing good

Giannis is planets away in defense, but there is a misconception that Luka is a terrible defender.
He is average. The stats show he is not a negative.

He has great positioning. Although, there are times when his effort on defending fast breaks is nonexistent - I can give him a pass for that because at times he is in foul trouble. He has a tendency to pick up offensive fouls and he knows his team needs him in the game.