Despite the risk of hyperbole turning into a hot take, I’m going to say it: Year six Luka Dončić looks a lot like Michael Jordan of 1988-89, or LeBron James of 2007-08. I’m not saying he’s better than either GOAT. It’s simply impossible to look at what he’s doing, how he continues to improve, and think that another young perimeter player is anywhere near his level.
His three-point accuracy has reached a level that would put him within range of a 50-40-90 shooter. If he continues this pace, that 48-38-78 split would be a career high, with personal bests in points (33.7) and assists (9.2). Dončić’s individual greatness is officially overlooked.
There are several reasons for this, the first of which is the team’s lack of success. It’s funny how quickly people forget that the Dallas Mavericks put Chris Paul into early retirement two years ago. I mean, it will happen when you intentionally miss the play-in and get fined, but still.
The front office’s solution to its lack of talent was to introduce a less reliable facsimile of a player who had entered free agency during the previous offseason. Only, this leadoff shooter hasn’t shown any interest in winning or playing basketball in about five years.
Speaking of Kyrie Irving, his rehabilitation from a heel contusion is going well, according to head coach Jason Kidd, who also refused to give a timetable for the return of his point guard during Wednesday’s update. Wonderful! The Mavs could have used Irving’s services during a 113-110 collapse against a Cleveland Cavaliers group without Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley last night. Taking a 20-point first-half lead at home is one thing, but getting cooked by Caris Lavert is where I draw the line.
Dallas has lost five of its last eight games and appears to be heading toward Western Conference purgatory once again. The narrative surrounding Dončić is largely due to him. Experts hate empty statistics as much as they hate empty calories. His usage, style of play and weight apathy have drawn comparisons to James Harden.
So why did I lead this piece by putting Luka in the same breath as LeBron and MJ? Probably because I’m an idiot, but he’s only 24. Harden was a fully formed player when he started racking up stats like the Hamburglar does with McDoubles.
I agree that Dončić’s numbers can come at the expense of finding his teammates’ rhythm. Did this lead to the departure of Jalen Bruson or the fluctuating health of Kristaps Porziņģis? Maybe the first, no the second. Brunson had the opportunity to be the de facto first option for his hometown team and is still just a 6-foot-2 point guard who scores first. Porziņģis is now Boston’s fourth-best player.
Remember when LeBron went to the Miami Heat and some people said he might not even be the best player on the team because Dwyane Wade had a ring? Do you remember how stupid that was? That’s what I think of every time someone throws Jayson Tatum’s name into MVP discussion before Dončić.
Another word on Devin Booker. Or Anthony Edwards either. Mark Cuban is here to crush the hopes of Shark tank candidates while simultaneously thinking that Christian Wood and Kyrie Irving are running mates worthy of Dončić’s talent. The current head coach of the Mavericks once intentionally spilled a Diet Coke on the court because he was out of timeouts.
Forgive me if I find the idea that Dončić is not a winner absurd. He’s an above-average slate away from giving MVP voters an eye-opener and trying to replenish their ballots. The reason I chose these specific years of LeBron and Jordan’s careers? There was a time when fans and talking heads also began to wonder what they were so obviously witnessing with these two all-time greats.
Stop doing this. Luka Dončić is a basketball savant and it’s only a matter of opportunity until he reaches the pinnacle of the sport.
