Appreciating NBA Greatness: The Dallas Mavs Marvels of Luka Doncic
Awe-inspiring… Historic… Generational… "Luka Magic''…
Those are just a few of the appropriate superlatives that can be used at this point to fully express how great Dallas Mavericks’ 22-year-old phenom Luka Doncic has been just three seasons into his NBA career.
On Tuesday, Doncic was named to the All-NBA First Team for the second consecutive year, making him the youngest player in league history to achieve that honor twice. Only four players all-time have gotten All-NBA First Team nods before turning 23: Kevin Durant, Rick Barry, Max Zaslofsky and Luka Doncic.
Doncic also became one of just seven players since the ABA/NBA merger to earn All-NBA First Team honors at least two times in their first three season. The other six players on that list include: Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Penny Hardaway, David Robinson, George Gervin and David Thompson.
Leading the Mavs to their highest playoff seeding since 2011 this season, Doncic averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game while shooting nearly 48% from the field and 35% from deep (both career-highs).
In the postseason against the Kawhi Leonard-led Los Angeles Clippers, Doncic raised his game to an even higher level, averaging 35.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.3 assists in the seven-game series while shooting nearly 50% from the field and 40% from deep. Dallas wasn’t able to overcome the disparity of talent they had against the Clippers in Game 7, but that didn’t stop Doncic from putting up a game for the ages with 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds with Leonard, one of the best defenders in the league, checking him for most of the night.
Through 13 career playoff games, Doncic is the only player in NBA history with averages of 33.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game. And that playoffs points per game average? It’s enough to beat out the great Michael Jordan’s career playoffs average of 33.4 points per game for first all-time, at least for the time being.
Doncic has been so good since being drafted that it’s just kind of become the norm to expect the kind of absurd performances we’re starting to see more and more of lately. That’s a testament to the path of greatness Doncic is carving out for himself, but we shouldn’t take for granted the greatness that we’re witnessing.
As good as LeBron James was from his first day, I remember when he officially ‘arrived’ by leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in just his fourth season. Fourteen years later featuring a decade’s worth of Finals appearances for LeBron, and it all feels like it went by in the blink of an eye, at least from an outsider’s perspective.
No matter what other accolades await Doncic going forward, I hope everyone is able to slow down a little bit and just enjoy the ride, because as good as it’s been three years in, it seems as if the best is yet to come.
READ MORE: Luka Doncic 'Is From A Different Planet,' Says Dirk
When it comes to Mavs’ greatness, specifically, it doesn’t get any higher on the totem pole than Dirk Nowitzki, at least for now. Dirk himself has even gone as far as saying Luka is already better than he ever was. I’ve always loved Dirk’s trademark humbleness, but I’ll have to respectfully disagree with him there until Doncic adds a championship or two to his mantle.
Doncic may still have a ways to go, but at his current pace, he’s destined to be in the conversation for greatest of all time if long-term health permits. The numbers are simply undeniable.
READ MORE: Mavs Donuts: We're Really Ripping Doncic as a Harden-Like 'Ball Hog'?
So instead of starting bulls—t narratives about how he’s supposedly “hogging the ball” too much, or speculating about if he’ll leave Dallas when his next contract is up, which is a half of a decade away, how about we just sit back, relax, fully appreciate and soak in the thrilling show that is "Luka Magic''?
Because the show, which has already been well worth the price of admission, is still only in its first act.
