Can the hype for Luka Doncic grow any more? He’s third in the entire league in All-Star voting and is only winning over more and more people. His clutch-shooting statistics are off the charts, delivering with an icy coolness down the stretch that’s captured the hearts of many. Every flaw that scouts poked in his game seem to have vanished, and Doncic has reach levels even the most optimistic couldn’t have expected.
And to add on to all this, Doncic also happens to be the best teenager in basketball history. To prove this, we’re going to compare him to a few other NBA teenagers during their rookie years.
There are only two other players in this discussion. One is LeBron James, possibly the best basketball player in NBA history. The other is Carmelo Anthony, four-time gold medalist and 10x All-Star. All other rookies with comparable statistics were 20 by the time they played in the NBA, and other high school draftees like Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett didn’t fully develop until around their third year.
With that said, here’s a basic stat comparison between the three.
Anthony: 21.0 PPG, 6.1 REB, 2.7 AST, 1.2 STL, 3.0 TOV, 42.6 FG%, 32.2 3P%. James: 20.9 PPG, 5.5 REB, 5.9 AST, 1.6 STL, 3.5 TOV, 41.7 FG%, 29.0 3P%. Doncic: 20.3 PPG, 6.7 REB, 5.1 AST, 1.1 STL, 3.2 TOV, 43.6 FG%, 37.2 3P%.
The three are pretty even, but it’s between Doncic and James. James has the higher points and assists per game, but it’s the efficiency that puts Doncic on top. Doncic’s three-point accuracy is too eye-popping, especially considering the 6.6 attempts per game. The rest of the categories are fairly close, but in the
Even more, Doncic is doing all this in significantly fewer minutes than the other two. Part of this is because of worse conditioning, but Doncic is only averaging 32.1 minutes per game. Compare that to the 36.5 minutes Anthony averaged or the staggering 39.5 James logged, and his numbers are even more impressive.
Not only that, but Doncic also has the lowest usage rate of all three, albeit only a microscopic difference at 28.1% versus Anthony’s 28.5% and James’ 28.2%. It’s not a huge difference, but it proves Doncic isn’t dominating the ball or anything similar.
Going deeper into advanced stats, the gap widens between Doncic and the other two. Doncic leads the group with an 18.8 PER, compared to Anthony’s 17.6 PER and James’ 18.3 PER. He’s also the front runner in box plus/minus, with a positive 3.3 compared to Anthony’s +0.1 and James’ +1.9.
Looking past the stat sheet, Doncic also passes the eye test with flying colors. Basketball is just effortless for Doncic, from the step-back threes to the wrong-foot floaters that shouldn’t look so natural. He’s built for big games, from the 11-0 run he had by himself against the Rockets in the clutch or the miracle threes like the one against Portland. At his heart, Doncic is an entertainer, living off the crowd’s energy. As a rookie, he already had the composure that even some seasoned stars lack in the clutch.
Simply put, Doncic has that elusive and all too vague “It” factor. It’s the identity fans associate with the Michael Jordans and Kobe Bryants, and what separates the greats from the goods. You can see it in the indomitable confidence he displays no matter what the situation. And in all honesty, the people who think he’s overrated probably haven’t watched him enough this season.
Luka Doncic is having one of the best rookie seasons ever and has surpassed all expectations anybody could’ve realistically set. The sky is the limit for Doncic, and it’d be foolish to try and place a ceiling on him. When you’re the best teenager basketball has ever seen, the only obstacle your path to being great is yourself. And based off the way he’s delivered so far, there are very
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