Would you rather have Luka or Zion?

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Good grief, another one of these. I'd rather have Luka than prime Jordan and LeBron too. That has to be next.

People are going crazy on both sides.
Luka is not Lebron by any means. At the same time Zion's chance to be a Top 15 of all time are slim to none.

But Luka at least had a 21.2 pts, 7.8 reb and 6 ast season as a rookie. So that is a fact. Where Zion had a few pre-season games.
Let's maybe wait a bit and see...

Luka's issue is that he's coming at the end of LeBron's career. And looking at them side by side, Luka's ceiling is probably along the lines of poor men LeBron, unless he really takes off as a shooter. This somehow makes people underrate how good he can actually be, because a poor man LeBron can still be a perennial MVP contender.

[rickbrunson]

Luka, because he’s European, and smarter.

[Optms]

Luka will be extremely lucky to reach James Harden level.

Zion will be the best player of this generation ala Lebron if health permits him. Zion is in his own tier.

[spikeslovechild]

I think Zion will ultimately be better but Luka has already played NBA games and flashed All NBA potential so it's hard to vote against him

[Spanish_Laker]

Luka is way better than Zion will ever be. I'd rather have a great all-around PG with a SF body than an undersized PF who can't shoot to save his life, is just a high-flyer/dunker and his knees are made of glass.

[Johnny Firpo]

Both are MVP type of talents for sure, Luka is just as unique as Zion is, just in different ways. Going with Luka because I feel that in today's NBA, his skillset is simply more valuable. If Zion had LeBron's vision, I'd probably go with him, even if he remained a bad shooter.

[jazzfan1971]

I don't think there is a right answer. If Zion stays healthy he is the right answer. If he doesn't than Luka is the right answer. A lot depends on your risk analysis of Zion's health. If you are pretty risk adverse. as I am, you probably just go with the lower ceiling, higher floor guy in Luka. But, if Zion stays healthy that is the kind of decision that blows up in your face and gets you fired.

I guess picking Zion doesn't get your fired even if he blows out his knee 5 minutes into the season. You can just shrug and say injuries couldn't' be foreseen. (but, I am forecasting a strong possibility of injury for Zion)

[leolozon]

I don't think there is a right answer. If Zion stays healthy he is the right answer. If he doesn't than Luka is the right answer. A lot depends on your risk analysis of Zion's health. If you are pretty risk adverse. as I am, you probably just go with the lower ceiling, higher floor guy in Luka. But, if Zion stays healthy that is the kind of decision that blows up in your face and gets you fired.

I guess picking Zion doesn't get your fired even if he blows out his knee 5 minutes into the season. You can just shrug and say injuries couldn't' be foreseen. (but, I am forecasting a strong possibility of injury for Zion)

Does it get you fired considering the consolation prize? Like you said, 1 has a higher ceiling but a bigger injury risk, so it’s all about risk management.

But even if Zion stays healthy, it’s not as if Luka is projecting to be THAT far behind.

It’s close to the Oden vs Durant scenario where I thought Durant should have gone 1st because he wasn’t that far behind and was less risky. Why take a risk if the risk isn’t paying that much?

Now it all depends on how much better you think healthy Zion is and the % of risk you perceive. I actually didn’t vote because I think it’s close to a wash.

[reflex35]

People are going crazy on both sides.
Luka is not Lebron by any means. At the same time Zion's chance to be a Top 15 of all time are slim to none.

But Luka at least had a 21.2 pts, 7.8 reb and 6 ast season as a rookie. So that is a fact. Where Zion had a few pre-season games.
Let's maybe wait a bit and see...

Luka's issue is that he's coming at the end of LeBron's career. And looking at them side by side, Luka's ceiling is probably along the lines of poor men LeBron, unless he really takes off as a shooter. This somehow makes people underrate how good he can actually be, because a poor man LeBron can still be a perennial MVP contender.

We already have poor men Lebron in the league. That is Paul George. Please leave that role to him...

Jokes aside being poor men Lebron is not bad at all, but Luka should model his game off Harden.
Improve ball handling skills, learn all his stepbacks, side steps and one leg shots... And of course flopping and getting fouls and here you go - you have a white version of Harden 2.0

[azcatz11]

Zion's likely outcome if he is healthy is a top 15 player of all time, Luka's likely outcome is maybe a top 100 player of all time. So it is Zion for me.

You have to be kidding me

[GeorgeMarcus]

Luka, because he’s European, and smarter.

What a terrible post. In a single sentence you managed to present an illogical argument (the average Euro NBA player is worse than the average non Euro, so that’s not an advantage), a baseless premise (you have no reason to believe Luka is smarter/didn’t attempt to present one), and shameless unbridled racism to tie it all together.

If your post wasn’t some poor attempt at humor then I feel sorry for you. For you to convince yourself of something so laughably narrow-minded and self-serving means you’ve probably been your own worst enemy your entire life.

[leolozon]

Tbh saying Zion's "likely outcome" is a top 15 player OF ALL TIME, even if he stays healthy, is a completely absurd statement on its face, and as his leading argument, it renders the rest of what he says not worth commenting on.

Yeah... The idea of "likely outcome" of the player who has not even played 1 official game to already be seen as TOP-15 player is absurd.
Doesn't matter what your top 10- top 15 is but for the most people it's putting Zion in Kobe's, Hakeem's, Bird's territory.
Which is laughable as these are the guys who are top 10 - top 15 in my mind and probably many others. (I understand that some might feel they are higher or lower and it's just an example)

Think about who are the current players in the league that are top 15 of all time?
Lebron definitely, then...
KD? Curry? Harden?
That's the list probably, and I think most by far would put Harden as definitely outside the top 15 unless he wins a title.
Is Zion really "likely" to be better than even Harden, much less KD or Curry? Love him or hate him, Harden is really, really damn good.
Putting any rookie in that rare air before their first game is pure poppycock. Nothing but a bunch of balderdash.

I’ll defend his post. I don’t think he meant «likely» like there are great odds that it happens. More like «considering his hype and where he is at 19, he’s on a path to be a top 15 player. » It could be true, but it’s not likely to happen considering it’s based on a best case scenario. Many players were on path to be greater than they actually ended up.

That being said, even considering that way of thinking, if Zion is on a top 15 path, that would mean Luka is on a path far higher than top 100.

[dautjazz]

Zion hasn't even played yet and we still think this is a legitimate question.

Has to be Zion.

If both are healthy, then you're taking Zion.

3 knee injuries/issues in 8 months is a huge concern. TBH as much as everyone would hate it short term, he should probably be put on a special diet and exercise program, and take off as much time as necessary to lose 20-30 lbs. If it takes a year, it takes a year. At his current weight he's either going to have a rough start like Embiid or career ending trajectory of Oden.

If I had to make a decision now I'd take Zion and sit him for a year. I have no doubt he has the higher ceiling.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

After seeing that video of how Zion walks, I'd have to say Luka, there's something going on with Zion in terms of bio mechanics that isn't good. Luka is still built like a cab driver, but I don't see anything wrong with how he moves. Best ability is availability.

[Effigy]

Luka. I just don’t trust Zions health.

[israelfirst]

zion is injury prone and will be lucky to peak as a corliss williamson type player. doncic is a sure thing

[axeman23]

Luka. His game will age better, and Zion's knees/weight are a ticking timebomb.

[Clay Davis]

Zion. He has shown himself to be a hard worker and has an amazing motor. I do not doubt that he has the work ethic and intelligence to be a highly effective player.

[Pennebaker]

All these people are voting Luka because the vote has no consequence here.

But imagine if you were a GM with the #1 pick and Zion and Luka were both available.

Some of you may still take Luka + the flack and cross your fingers that you didn't just pass on Michael Jordan or LeBron James. The majority of you would take Zion.

[Cavsfansince84]

Luka might have a much longer career than Zion. But Zion would be more dominant if he stays healthy.

I think that's a big question mark at this point. Luka already seems destined to be a 26/7/7 type guy on pretty good efficiency with a killer bb iq and good handles for his size. I wouldn't bet on Zion being better in 3-4 years even with no injuries as of right now.