By Ben Neely
At age 21, Luka Doncic is already showing the basketball world that he is indeed a ‘basketball superstar.’ Last night against the Milwaukee Bucks, the young Slovenian was easily the best player on the court, as the Dallas Mavericks captured the impressive 136-132 victory.
Luka showcased his elite talent, scoring an amazing 36 points, 14 rebounds and an individual high 19 assists against the top seeded team in the eastern conference.
Even last season’s MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t help but praise Doncic, telling the media that the Maverick’s superstar was one of the best players he had ever played against.
“He’s playing great basketball. He’s a great basketball player, makes his teammates better,” Antetokounmpo said.
But it’s easy to forget that this is only Luka’s second NBA season, and that he was only drafted 3rd in the 2018 NBA draft, picked behind the Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton and Sacramento’s Marvin Bagley III.
Nearly two full seasons later and Doncic is now averaging an incredible 29.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists throughout the 2019/2020 season. The last NBA player to show a similar stat-line at such an age was Lebron James during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Its an amazing statistic and helps to illustrate why people continue to marvel at Doncic’s ability, and even why players admit that they don’t really know how to stop him.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague told reporters that Doncic was arguably the best player in the competition.
“It looks like no one can stop him right now, we can just try and slow him down,” Teague said.
Doncic’s talent has also helped the Mavericks to become the most efficient NBA offence in history with a 115.8 rating.
While it is too early in Luka’s career to see where he will end up, with a healthy Kristaps Porzingis beside Doncic, it’s not hard to say that the Mavericks will be a healthy contender for the NBA championship for many years to come.