Dallas Mavericks’ sophomore sensation Luka Doncic is the future of the NBA
Luka Doncic is 20 years old, playing in his second NBA season, and he is already a superstar. Luka is playing like an MVP this season, and currently one of strongest contenders just a month into the 2019-20 campaign.
This year, Doncic’s scoring looks as effortless as vintage Larry Bird‘s looked, his playmaking is on a level few NBA players ever achieve. His floor is Paul Pierce, his ceiling seems limitless.
The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns are out of excuses for passing on Doncic because the Mavericks currently sit at 4th in the brutal Western Conference thanks to the dominant play of Luka.
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Over the weekend, Luka went head to head with James Harden and the Rockets, he did not disappoint. Doncic outplayed the former MVP and led his team to a 137-123 victory. The timetable for Dallas’ return to the playoffs has been sped up significantly all because this 20-year-old, not yet close to his physical prime, phenom has shown that he is elite.
In Luka’s first two seasons he’s averaged 22.7 points per game. Only three players, at his age, in the modern 3-point era have averaged more than that – Kevin Durant, Shaquille O’Neal, and the King himself, LeBron James.
Of the eight players who were 20 years of age or younger that averaged 20 points per game in their second year, Luka is first at an incredible 29.9 points per game. He also leads that group in assists, 3’s, free throws, rebounds, effective field goal percentage and true shooting. His only real statistical comparison at this age is young LeBron.
The 2020s are up for grabs. Of the players 25 and younger (Zion Williamson is still an unknown at this moment) who are averaging over 25 points a game, Luka is already ahead of possible generational talents Karl-Anthony Towns, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Pascal Siakam, Trae Young, and he is neck and neck with the front-runner for the next king of the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
However, although tied with Giannis, Luka is five years younger, and the youngest of any player averaging over 25 points per game.
The future is untold, and anything can happen in the NBA, but Luka Doncic is primed to be the face of that future, and his legacy is just beginning.