Luka Doncic Enters 'Jordan Year': How Does Mavs Star Compare to the GOAT So Far?
Today is a special day, as Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic celebrates his 23rd birthday – or in other words, he's entering his 'Jordan Year.'
With that in mind, it's only natural to see how Doncic's resume stacks up to where the great Michael Jordan was at this point in his marvelous career. Doncic obviously has a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan from an overall perspective, but the kid is on the right track. After all, Jordan Brand wouldn't be preparing his long-overdue signature shoe if he wasn't, right?
Jordan turned 23 years old during his second NBA season, so for more of a fair comparison, we'll look at both his and Doncic's first four seasons in the league. Jordan's career averages to that point are as follows: 32.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and just 16.4 percent from deep.
NOTE: For further context, Jordan was injured during his sophomore season and only played in 18 games.
The Chicago Bulls' record was 158-170 during that span, and they lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of those first three seasons to the Milwaukee Bucks once and the Boston Celtics in back-to-back years. The Bulls finally got over the first-round hump in Jordan's fourth season, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers before losing to the 'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons in the second round.
Jordan was a four-time All-Star and had three All-NBA Team selections (two First Team and one Second Team). Jordan also made the NBA's All-Defensive First Team in his fourth season.
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Doncic's career averages through four seasons (with 20 games remaining in the 2021-2022 season) are as follows: 26.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from deep.
The Mavericks' record is 153-136 since drafting Doncic in 2018. After not making the playoffs during Doncic's rookie season, Dallas has been a postseason fixture ever since, despite looking two heavily contested first-round series to the Los Angeles Clippers over the last two years. The Mavs are currently fifth in the Western Conference, and we'll have to wait to see if Doncic can also get over his first-round hump in his fourth year just like Jordan did.
So far, Doncic has three All-Star appearances and two All-NBA First Team selections on his resume. It’s almost a guarantee that Doncic will make his third-consecutive All-NBA Team this year, it'll just be a matter of whether it's the First or Second Team.
"Luka is a phenomenal player, and at such a young age," said Jordan after he signed Doncic to Jordan Brand back in 2019. "He's demonstrating skill that takes many guys years to develop. It will be incredible to watch him continue to advance in the league."
Doncic remains in awe of Jordan's greatness even after being on his brand's team for three years now.
"It's amazing, I don’t know how to explain that moment," said Doncic after Jordan gave him a big bear hug at the All-Star Game last weekend. "It’s just unbelievable. MJ knows my name, it’s a lot. Just an unbelievable moment. I have no words for that."
Taking all things into consideration, we'll give Jordan the edge when it comes to how he performed in his first four seasons compared to Doncic, especially given Jordan's All-Defensive Team nod. But the fact that the Mavs have won more games with Doncic to this point than those Bulls teams did shouldn't be understated either. Also, Jordan turned 25 years old during his fourth season, where Doncic is just turning 23.
Another thing that helped Jordan make a big leap was the Bulls’ front office putting the right pieces around him. Scottie Pippen was as good of a co-star as Jordan could’ve asked for. The Mavs haven’t found Doncic’s ‘Pippen’ yet, but they’re working on it. Trading Kristaps Porzingis was a step in the right direction and opens up more flexibility in that department going forward. So we’ll see what the Mavs’ front office can do with that flexibility.
Becoming an all-time legend doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. It takes trials and tribulations. Jordan didn't win his first NBA championship until he was 28 years old and had failed multiple times. And then he finally figured it out and ended up with six titles.
Will Doncic continue to grow and progress in the same way the greatest player of all-time did? Until that time comes or not, we shouldn't take for granted what we've been watching for the last four years. Generational players like this don't come around that often, and it's fun getting to watch their careers unfold.
So happy birthday to you, Luka Doncic. We can't wait to see what kind of magic you have in store for us during your 'Jordan Year.'
