Luka Doncic will be the best rookie since Lebron.

[melasdas]

He is the best prospect since Lebron. Mark this words.

[saintEscaton]

Ayton is the right choice at #1 given his higher upside and rarity of uber talented bigs. Kevin Pelton also projected Dragan Bender to be the lovechild of Draymond Green/AK47 and future league RPM leader. I think Doncic will be a rich man's Gordon Hayward with better playmaking with worse D/athleticism, has a coveted skillset and will get his fare share of all-star nods but far from being a franchise changing player. He has a hard time getting by Euro players and creating seperation off the dribble, not like Ginobli/Harden at all. There will be a sizable learning curve in deed

[Filthadelphia]

Love Doncic. Think he's a cant miss star. But good lord the Great White Hype stuff needs to stop.
Most people are so openly transparent its sickening

[Cavsfansince84]

Ayton is the right choice at #1 given his higher upside and rarity of uber talented bigs. Kevin Pelton also projected Dragan Bender to be the lovechild of Draymond Green/AK47 and future league RPM leader. I think Doncic will be a rich man's Gordon Hayward with better playmaking with worse D/athleticism, has a coveted skillset and will get his fare share of all-star nods but far from being a franchise changing player. He has a hard time getting by Euro players and creating seperation off the dribble, not like Ginobli/Harden at all. There will be a sizable learning curve in deed

From what I've seen he's actually pretty good at creating space for himself out near the arc and has a good ability to finish near the rim. He has a certain charisma with his game that star players often have.

[saintEscaton]

Ayton is the right choice at #1 given his higher upside and rarity of uber talented bigs. Kevin Pelton also projected Dragan Bender to be the lovechild of Draymond Green/AK47 and future league RPM leader. I think Doncic will be a rich man's Gordon Hayward with better playmaking with worse D/athleticism, has a coveted skillset and will get his fare share of all-star nods but far from being a franchise changing player. He has a hard time getting by Euro players and creating seperation off the dribble, not like Ginobli/Harden at all. There will be a sizable learning curve in deed

From what I've seen he's actually pretty good at creating space for himself out near the arc and has a good ability to finish near the rim. He has a certain charisma with his game that star players often have.

He has the signature stepback move, but main reason his 3pt shooting percentage was so low in ACB (29%) was because of him heaving heavily contested treys off the dribble and he was forced to generate his own offense with mixed results. I don't know he has to be the primary ballhandler at the next level but I don''t think he is a 1v1 dynamo

[Domejandro]

He's going to get obliterated defensively.

He is a pretty solid defensive player, that projection is completely based on the European-stiff stereotype, in my opinion.

[saintEscaton]

He's going to get obliterated defensively.

He is a pretty solid defensive player, that projection is completely based on the European-stiff stereotype, in my opinion.

Maybe as a team defender disrupting passing lanes , but I don't think he can handle NBA sized wings on the ball

[PhilBlackson]

Doubt it...just don't see him having a better rookie season than KD, Simmons, CP3 and heck throw in Blake Griffin's rookie season.

If does in fact do so, he'll have proven to be worth all the hype. Not saying that it isn't possible but I think the bar is much higher than the OP realizes.

[nikster]

clearly no bias from a Euro resident.

You digging a hole, Darko comparison was clearly non sense. Its like comparing RJ Barrett to average Canadian high school prospect.

It wasn't a direct comparison, it was to point out that plenty of hyper euro players have been busts. Hold your horses.

plenty of prospects are busts period. Every single year. The Darko comparison is just lazy and adds nothing to the discussion. Besides, the dude was drafted 15 years ago. Might as well bring up Kwame Brown as a reason Ayton will be a bust

[nikster]

This guy is winning MVP and coming up big in the post season for the best team in the 2nd best league in the world. He is playing against grown ass professional basketball players. In NCAA these prospects are playing against kids who will never play professional ball even at the euro league level. Doncic will certainly be ready to play his rookie season.

[dipodenis]

Better than Simmons, better than Towns, better than Blake Griffin in terms of a rookie season. According to Kevin Pelton's WARP he is actually is being projected to be the most dominant rookie in the last 12 years at least (tracked since 06). Just put up 21, 7.5, 7, 1.5 steals PER 36 on elite efficiency, just turned 19 years old, led his team to the Euroleague title.

I really really hope he doesnt stay in Europe this year. We will all be robbed of an amazing talent. His game and size is ideal for the NBA right now to have a bit of a perfect storm scenario that Dirk had mid career where the league became a pace+space/PnR league.

In the NBA he should be an even better fit. If the Suns don't draft him at #1 they are making a huge mistake. This thread will be revisited in the season I'm sure.

Clippers should offer #12, #13, and some other pieces for #2 if Suns take Ayton.

[Pachinko_]

It's funny how people immediately assume a young guy coming from europe will have problems defensively, when in reality the NBA is full of top NCAA picks who can't find their ass with both hands on defense.

I don't know how Luka's footspeed will compare to Wiggins, Jabari, KAT, Okafor etc, but I'm pretty sure he will know where to fkn stand at least. That will be refreshing

[Xherdan 23]

plenty of prospects are busts period. Every single year. The Darko comparison is just lazy and adds nothing to the discussion. Besides, the dude was drafted 15 years ago. Might as well bring up Kwame Brown as a reason Ayton will be a bust

It's actually worse than Kwame and Ayton comp, at least they play the same position.

The real reason we know Ayton will bust is this:





Another typical American bust being hyped on Sports Illustrated

[D3ko]

Ridiculous


He's not a PG...

He's a point forward with potential to be a combo forward as he is big and thick.
He could a better passing Saric or Turkoglu... Or if he can improve his body and agility... He could be Manu Ginobili part deux

Fella sorry to say this but YOU ARE WRONG!


He is a PG , probably more than the half of the players playing in that position nowadays.

I can understand some questions about 1vs1 skills .
But he is a pass first point guard in a big body, you could compare him with Ben Simmons, Lonzo Ball, Ricky Rubio but he has a lot of moves to score the basket( post up, midrange, open 3,step back, fake and shoot, attacking the big in the pick& roll.

Okey he hasn't got the quickest first step ever, but he is fast and strong , has improved a ton the last two years handling ball to score or to run the play.

Also the people will be surprise about his defense , he is not Marcus smart but he can switch with every position , he hustles a lot, he will contain the bigs PG in the game ( RW,Wall,Harden) every SG, some SF, and every stretch 4 in the league .

He will suffer yes for sure, but definitely he is not a liability in defense.
i would not put him to stop curry Irving or IT kind of player , but for that reason you can play with another 4 players in the court, I can see Booker , Hield or Bodgan being that guy, anyway who can stop this kind of quick point guard with ease?


He is not the best rookie since Lebron , there are some great players every draft , but I can see him having a similar season than Mitchel ,Simmons or Tatum.


He is not a Generational Player, I reckon that some people want to see him failing because some nerds are saying that he is the second coming of Lebron or bird .

But he is special , how special? we will see it, but I can bet against anyone that his only presence on the court will improve every team in the league.

Personally I didn't want him going first pick to avoid giants spectations , but Phoenix , the new coach and Booker are the perfect match for him.

[Pachinko_]

Personally I didn't want him going first pick to avoid giants spectations , but Phoenix , the new coach and Booker are the perfect match for him.

I thought the Kings might be best for him to be honest, it's a little Slav colony over there
I'd be surprised if Vlade and Peja have not already approached him and his family multiple times to make them feel comfortable about the transition.

I think Kokoskov will be under tremendous pressure to get Ayton, understandably so, and taking his guy instead could be a recipe for disaster if things don't work out as expected.

Ayton to PHO and Luka to Kings looks logical and safe to me

[GreatWhiteStiff]

Love Doncic. Think he's a cant miss star. But good lord the Great White Hype stuff needs to stop.
Most people are so openly transparent its sickening

Agree with this post 100%.

[Inspectah Tech]

I gotta watch him more because based on what I've seen, I don't understand the hype

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I mean he could, but I am not sure why you think that is a promise. Manu Ginobili wasn't that great of a rookie, and he was much older and a better player than Doncic is.

Manu was injured, though, and playing for a contender.
and he still had huge impact.

[Carlos_Danger]

I've been around the block a few times. With this kind of hype, one thing is certain. The American prospect picked immediately after this guy is going to be a HOFer.

[dakomish23]

I’m so glad my team won so many useless games so that by the time we pick, he will have already bought a house in the city that drafted him