Luka Doncic will be the best rookie since Lebron.

[UcanUwill]

Hmm.. here are some quotes..

"I haven't seen him, no one sees him, but we hear things. I've heard very good things. Nothing bad at all. ... From what I know about those leagues, he is playing the very best in Europe against grown men who are 25, 30 and 35 years old.

1

He's playing against guys double his age. Not only is he going against pros, but some of those pros are going to be playing in the NBA. It's so hard to compare because they play different positions, but whoever takes him will get a tremendous talent for years to come.

2

..about a different "icic" - Darko Milicic.

I hate hes playing against grown men argument. Thats something that people put together when they actually have nothing reasonable to say. Know that for the future reference. Darko played in Serbian league or smth, yeah, against grown men, but those men were still terrible, in a league that Adam Morrison dominated... Doncic has way more going on than just ''playing against grown men''. He played in the Euroleague for starters, and was MVP.

[NZB2323]

LeBron was not that good of a rookie, arguably the third best of his team, definitely worse than Simmons.

Edit: of his class

If you look back 2003-04 season was the absolute lowest point in the NBA when it came to scoring because of unrelaxed hand checking rules combined with clogged lanes due to illegal defense being taken out and the slowest paced year ever to cap it off. Rookie LeBron in the league now probably puts up 23/6/6 on 55 TS%

Stats like PER and BPM account for changes in rules and pacing from year to year and Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, KAT, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and Nikola Jokic all had higher PERs and BPMs as rookies.

[HeartBreakKid]

uh...there have been many rookies who were better than LBJ since 2003....there are probably 3 this year alone.

I mean, people do know that LBJ wasn't the best rookie in his class, right? Or probably even second best.

LBJ got ROY because of the hype he had as a prospect, he wasn't close to an all time great rookie because he was too young.

[HeartBreakKid]

LeBron was not that good of a rookie, arguably the third best of his team, definitely worse than Simmons.

So best since Jordan? Whichever arbitrary player, he will be the best in well over a decade.

Better than Tim Duncan? Shaq? Hill? You don't follow the whole rookie thing that closely to be making predictions like this.

[OkcSinceSGA]

LeBron was not that good of a rookie, arguably the third best of his team, definitely worse than Simmons.

So best since Jordan? Whichever arbitrary player, he will be the best in well over a decade.

Better than Tim Duncan? Shaq? Hill? You don't follow the whole rookie thing that closely to be making predictions like this.

Duncan, Shaq and Hill go back 20 years or so. I'm predicting best in maybe 13-15 if he can top CP3 and Simmons as I think he may. When you really look at it, the bar isn't that high. Not many true amazing star rookies in that span. Simmons+CP3+Griffin+Lebron in a 15 year span. Doncic is arguably the most NBA ready rookie in that span considering his experience in Euroleague, leading his team to a title and winning MVP by 19.

[Heej]

LeBron was not that good of a rookie, arguably the third best of his team, definitely worse than Simmons.

Edit: of his class

If you look back 2003-04 season was the absolute lowest point in the NBA when it came to scoring because of unrelaxed hand checking rules combined with clogged lanes due to illegal defense being taken out and the slowest paced year ever to cap it off. Rookie LeBron in the league now probably puts up 23/6/6 on 55 TS%

Stats like PER and BPM account for changes in rules and pacing from year to year and Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, KAT, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and Nikola Jokic all had higher PERs and BPMs as rookies.

Fair point, but those stats also don't normalize for style of play and how they translate. The way the game is played now favors a player of LeBron's archetype while it was nerfed in the early 2000s. I still think Blake is the best rookie I've seen come into the league. He was the most exciting player I'd seen in a looooong time. I remember poker games with my friends where we raved about the dunk Rookie Blake had last night and we'd put on his highlights in the background.

[OkcSinceSGA]

If you look back 2003-04 season was the absolute lowest point in the NBA when it came to scoring because of unrelaxed hand checking rules combined with clogged lanes due to illegal defense being taken out and the slowest paced year ever to cap it off. Rookie LeBron in the league now probably puts up 23/6/6 on 55 TS%

Stats like PER and BPM account for changes in rules and pacing from year to year and Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, KAT, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and Nikola Jokic all had higher PERs and BPMs as rookies.

Fair point, but those stats also don't normalize for style of play and how they translate. The way the game is played now favors a player of LeBron's archetype while it was nerfed in the early 2000s. I still think Blake is the best rookie I've seen come into the league. He was the most exciting player I'd seen in a looooong time. I remember poker games with my friends where we raved about the dunk Rookie Blake had last night and we'd put on his highlights in the background.

What happened to him still personally affects me as a 20 year fan of the Clippers. He had Karl Malone type trajectory and ended up being Shawn Kemp 2.0 if that. We finally had our guy! Finally the lucky team who got a draft pick right. Yet injuries+mental softness rubbed him of what could have been.

[mbsnmisc]

Doncic is exactly the type of player that Jerry West will steal. I would be wary of any trades with the Clippers. He is GOAT executive.

[OkcSinceSGA]

Doncic is exactly the type of player that Jerry West will steal. I would be wary of any trades with the Clippers. He is GOAT executive.

I'd cry if we drafted him or traded for him. I just honestly don't see a path. I wish.

[Kobblehead]

He's going to get obliterated defensively.

Maybe not. He's like 220+ pounds with a 6'11" wingspan with high basketball IQ.

[HeartBreakKid]

So best since Jordan? Whichever arbitrary player, he will be the best in well over a decade.

Better than Tim Duncan? Shaq? Hill? You don't follow the whole rookie thing that closely to be making predictions like this.

Duncan, Shaq and Hill go back 20 years or so. I'm predicting best in maybe 13-15 if he can top CP3 and Simmons as I think he may. When you really look at it, the bar isn't that high. Not many true amazing star rookies in that span. Simmons+CP3+Griffin+Lebron in a 15 year span. Doncic is arguably the most NBA ready rookie in that span considering his experience in Euroleague, leading his team to a title and winning MVP by 19.

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. You also keep dropping LBJ's name in there which is strange, because there are at least 10 rookies who have been better than him, and I could name those 10 without naming any of the guys you named.

[Lauri_Legend]

uh...there have been many rookies who were better than LBJ since 2003....there are probably 3 this year alone.

I mean, people do know that LBJ wasn't the best rookie in his class, right? Or probably even second best.

LBJ got ROY because of the hype he had as a prospect, he wasn't close to an all time great rookie because he was too young.

Yeah...this is pretty inaccurate. He won ROY because he was the best. Sure, there was a debate between him and Melo his rookie year, but it was clear that Lebron was hands down the better overall player from Day 1.

[OkcSinceSGA]

Better than Tim Duncan? Shaq? Hill? You don't follow the whole rookie thing that closely to be making predictions like this.

Duncan, Shaq and Hill go back 20 years or so. I'm predicting best in maybe 13-15 if he can top CP3 and Simmons as I think he may. When you really look at it, the bar isn't that high. Not many true amazing star rookies in that span. Simmons+CP3+Griffin+Lebron in a 15 year span. Doncic is arguably the most NBA ready rookie in that span considering his experience in Euroleague, leading his team to a title and winning MVP by 19.

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. You also keep dropping LBJ's name in there which is strange, because there are at least 10 rookies who have been better than him, and I could name those 10 without naming any of the guys you named.

True, Lebron didn't really become a superstar till his 2nd year. Either way he was a memorable rookie is why I'm mentioning him. It's not necessarily a ranking. Nonetheless I think he has the POTENTIAL to be better.

[HeartBreakKid]

uh...there have been many rookies who were better than LBJ since 2003....there are probably 3 this year alone.

I mean, people do know that LBJ wasn't the best rookie in his class, right? Or probably even second best.

LBJ got ROY because of the hype he had as a prospect, he wasn't close to an all time great rookie because he was too young.

Yeah...this is pretty inaccurate. He won ROY because he was the best. Sure, there was a debate between him and Melo his rookie year, but it was clear that Lebron was hands down the better overall player from Day 1.

No it isn't, he was not better than Anthony or Wade his rookie year. Being the best prospect isn't the same as the best rookie.

What is James argument for being the best rookie in 2004? He was insanely inefficient and couldn't play any defense. He put up an incredibly inefficient 21 points on a lotto team. Sounds like a hype job to me - same reason Wiggins won his ROY, except James had even better competition.

[BoardCrusher]

I dont want to predict anything, but he delivered every single time when he was asked to, hes been playing kids 2 years older since he was like 13, and he dominated, at 16 started playing euroleague against grown men, and many people said he wont be able to dominate like he did earlier cause he just grew up fast, yet he became euroleague MVP and lead his team to the title.
Last summer I remember people were saying, how the eurobasket will be the ultimate test to show if he is ready for NBA... and he (together with Dragic) lead Slovenia to the title.
So one thing thats for certain is, do not doubt this kid, he will adapt , his BBIQ is off the charts, I believe we will all be pleasantly surprised once again.

And to the people comparing him to Milicic, lol just lol ? seriously? shows your ignorance....

[IgorK]

Hmm.. here are some quotes..

"I haven't seen him, no one sees him, but we hear things. I've heard very good things. Nothing bad at all. ... From what I know about those leagues, he is playing the very best in Europe against grown men who are 25, 30 and 35 years old.

1

He's playing against guys double his age. Not only is he going against pros, but some of those pros are going to be playing in the NBA. It's so hard to compare because they play different positions, but whoever takes him will get a tremendous talent for years to come.

2

..about a different "icic" - Darko Milicic.

Darko didn't win Euroleague MVP, wasn't the best player on the best team in Europe (or on his team for that matter).
In fact, they're nothing alike as prospects, Darko's upside was precieved (obviously for no good reason) as a more athletic Dirk but he was clearly a project. Luka is one of the most complete, pro-ready player we've seen in a while and the only doubts about him is his ceiling, not floor.
There is no chance of Doncic busting, at the very least he'll be a starter for over a decade.

So much confidence, you must've flown over to see him up close and assess personally on a deep level.

[Xherdan 23]

Hmm.. here are some quotes..

1

2

..about a different "icic" - Darko Milicic.

Darko didn't win Euroleague MVP, wasn't the best player on the best team in Europe (or on his team for that matter).
In fact, they're nothing alike as prospects, Darko's upside was precieved (obviously for no good reason) as a more athletic Dirk but he was clearly a project. Luka is one of the most complete, pro-ready player we've seen in a while and the only doubts about him is his ceiling, not floor.
There is no chance of Doncic busting, at the very least he'll be a starter for over a decade.

So much confidence, you must've flown over to see him up close and assess personally on a deep level.

Or maybe I just live in Europe so I don't need to fly anywhere...

And nowhere in my post was I talking about anything personal, just basketball - you should try learning about it, it's a pretty fun game

[JJ_PR]

He won't be the best rookie of his draft class. He'll be lucky to make it on the first team all rookie.

[thamadkant]

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

[Yoshun]

I wouldn't draft him at #1 unless I had a guarantee he was coming over. He seems like he's going to be a really good player, but there are a lot of really good prospects in this draft.