Is Luka Doncic the best 21-year-old in NBA history? His first Maverick playoff series will decide his place among the greats

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Is Luka Doncic the best 21-year-old in NBA history?

That question, which was asked me by an Eastern Conference CEO here in the bubble at the start of seeding play, shocked me. It has been marinated in my mind ever since.

The short answer I tend to is no, for reasons I will explain below, but I reserve the final judgment for two reasons.

One, Doncic won’t turn 22 until that time next February 28th. Second, Doncic has yet to perform on the ultimate basketball stage, the NBA playoffs, in the spotlight and amidst the pressure of all the great players being criticized.

It matters little that Doncic’s playoff debut on Monday night, against the Clippers, will take place on a pitch with tents in a small arena with no fans. They are still the playoffs. If anything, the bubble setting and the global coronavirus pandemic scenario will amplify the moment.

“Yes, it’s the playoffs, but I’ve been to the playoffs before, only in Europe,” Doncic recalled. “It’s not the same level, but it’s the same emotions. I’m excited, for sure. “

Who is not? The playoff debuts of Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and the Mavericks’ post-season top spot in four years are the main reasons I’ve been in the bubble for a month, two days and three hours since this beating. (But who is counting?)

There is a palpable feeling that however Monday night and this series against the decidedly favorite Clippers are played, this is a point of reference in what is already becoming another special era for the Mavericks franchise, such as the one led by another. European, Dirk Nowitzki, from the early 2000s.

Guide to improve

“Luka is a very predictable athlete,” said Mavericks president and general manager Donnie Nelson. “He wants to win. He has done it all his life. He did it at all levels except the NBA.

“I don’t think he or anyone on the team is entering the playoffs with anything other than ‘Hey, listen, anything is possible and we’re playing our best basketball at the right time.’ “

Nelson has witnessed Doncic’s progression since 2015, the third match of Doncic’s professional career, 16, starting with Real Madrid.

Since acquiring Doncic during Draft Night in June 2018, the Mavericks have seen him improve in every aspect. From Rookie of the Year to Starter Starter. From 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a rookie to 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists this season.

Beyond acknowledgments and numbers, however, there are indefinable and incommensurable traits. The “wow” moments in games. The wait every time he steps on a field.

“The special ones have a certain mentality, a certain swagger,” Nelson said. “There is the” it “factor. He checked all the boxes at a young age. And he did it all his life.

“That’s why none of us, internally, know what the limit is here. This is the thrilling piece. “

The playoff component

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was looking forward to it from the moment the franchise acquired the No. 3 Doncic pick by swapping the No. 5 (Trae Young) and the first Dallas pick in 2019 (Cam Reddish).

Cuban’s competitive nature was further boosted when the Mavericks acquired Porzingis from the Knicks last January. Cuban had no way of knowing that Doncic-Porzingis’ first post-season landing would take place in the midst of a pandemic on the Disney World campus in mid-August.

Cuban plans to be here for the show, but he said The news that a death in his family and pending funeral plans will delay his arrival.

Did Cuban have flashbacks to his first post-season as owner of Mavericks, in which the number 5 of the Mavericks seeded Utah number 4, recovering from a 0-2 deficit to win the best-of-5 series?

Those playoffs occurred 13 months after Cuban bought the franchise, which hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1990 or won a playoff game since the 1988 Western Conference Finals.

“It’s different from 2001,” Cuban said The news on Fridays. “I had no idea what to expect, and the Mavs haven’t been in the playoffs for so long. Now I know. But I can’t wait to see the “playoffs” Luka and KP. “

Playoff Luka. How, exactly, could Playoff Luka be different from Luka in the Regular Season? If Mavericks and NBA playoff history are indicators, fans should be patient for Playoff Luka’s full bloom.

This is just Doncic’s second NBA season. Nowitzki didn’t make his playoff debut until his third season at the age of 22.

In his first playoff game, April 21, 2001, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Nowitzki scored 20 points and dropped 12 rebounds throughout 48 minutes, but with the Mavericks 87-86 behind, he was removed the ball. by Donyell Marshall with 3.3 seconds left.

Nowitzki was held to 15 points in the Dallas Game 2 defeat, but scored 33, 33 and 18 points when the Mavericks won their last three games. The Mavericks lost to San Antonio in the second round, 4-1, with Nowitzki scoring just nine points in the first round, but 30 and 42 in the last two games.

Which brings us back to the question posed by the Eastern Conference general manager’s bubble: Is Doncic the best 21-year-old in NBA history?

You know, Wilt Chamberlain didn’t make his NBA debut until he was 23. Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were 22 when they entered the league; Larry Bird was 23.

This substantially narrows the list of candidates.

Michael Jordan joined the NBA at 21. He was Rookie of the Year in 1984-85 and was a far superior defender to Doncic, but his averages – 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists – were lower than Doncic’s at 21. years.

And during Jordan’s first three seasons, the Bulls haven’t finished .500 or won a playoff streak – though in his first streak, against Milwaukee, Jordan sank a jab with 22 seconds left in Chicago’s only win. It would take seven years for Jordan to reach and win his first NBA Finals.

Magic Johnson entered the league at the age of 20 and recorded lower averages than Doncic in his first two seasons, but when Abdul-Jabbar sprained his ankle in Game 5 of the 1980 finals, rookie Johnson moved on. in the middle, he scored 42 points and shot 15 rebounds in Game 6 and won finals MVP honors.

Advantage, magic. Of course, Playoff Magic.

LeBron James entered the NBA at 19 and his Cavaliers did not make the playoffs in his first two seasons. But in his third season, 21-year-old James was the All-Star Game MVP, averaging 31.4 points, seven rebounds and 6.6 assists and led Cleveland to a first-round victory over Washington.

In his first playoff game, James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the first player to record a triple-double in his post-season debut as Johnson.

“I think it’s too early to mention LeBron and Michael Jordan in the same breath, not that Luka can’t have a breakout. [postseason]”Said two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith.” But I think he has all the skills you need in the current NBA to be awesome. “

How beautiful? While watching Doncic averaging 30 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists in bubble play, fellow analyst and former Maverick Caron Butler noted that Doncic “has a cheat-sheet code now,” alluding to his greater common sense. since he came back from break.

Smith said: “One thing that a lot of these guys who have had three or four months off, like Luka, is really like a new season, so it’s not a continuation of the season. This is Luka who would be considered an MVP candidate if he comes back. “

MVP speech

This is what has entered the Doncic stratosphere: when the MVP trophy is awarded sometime after the playoffs, Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely win for the second consecutive year and Doncic has a good chance of finishing in the top five in the ballot.

I voted him fourth, behind Antetokounmpo, James and James Harden of Houston.

Understand that in the franchise’s 40-season history, a Maverick has finished in the top five in the MVP vote only three times. All were from Nowitzki, who won the award in 2007 and finished third in 2005 and 2006.

He was 26 when he broke the top five for the first time. Now, just a year after Nowitzki’s retirement and on the eve of the franchise’s first post-season appearance without him since 1990, the Mavericks have a successor who could be an MVP candidate for years to come.

When he gets into the bubble, Cuban’s arms should be black and Mavericks blue for pinching.

“I’m incredibly hyped,” Cuban said. “We have shown that we can beat anyone. Our shooters are on their way. Luka and KP were amazing and obviously Rick will always prepare the boys. “

Of course it would be Mavericks manager Rick Carlisle. When the Mavericks rallied behind Doncic on August 8 to beat Milwaukee in overtime, Carlisle compared the vision and instinct of his point guard’s “savant type” to Bird and Jason Kidd.

Carlisle, however, also wants to mitigate expectations for Luka’s Playoffs. And Carlisle certainly doesn’t want to question the best 21-year-olds in NBA history.

“I think Luka’s # 1 goal is to win and be an NBA champion,” Carlisle said. “He has spoken several times that he doesn’t care about the stats.

“I think Luka Doncic is really one of the unique young players in the history of the game, very much his man, very much his playing style, extremely unique. It’s something that should be celebrated. “

Plus, Doncic has his playoff debut, another six months and presumably part of a new season to fill his 21-year resume.

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