Disagreed. I think if you put Luka in the 80s he'd dominate both Bird and Magic. It wouldn't be close. Michael Jordan might give Luka a run for his money, but I'm not sure.
Clearly, but I don't think we should rush to undersell his accomplishments either. He's much more than your average talented rookie, and the fact that he is 19 makes it pretty remarkable. For me it's not the numbers with Donkic, though those are impressive too. It's the tape
It's all about growth, it's way too early to compare the greats to him (drop a name like Bird). But he is similar in style somehow, rudimentary skillset wise.
This is more what I was trying getting at. It's way too early to tell, but if Luka does end up having an amazing career I see him doing it in a similar style to Bird.
I'm not sure he won't be an All Star THIS year. FWIW, the James Harden comparisons aren't just on this board: Is Luka Doncic the next James Harden?
Bird would average 30-35 ppg but he can't play lockdown D in this era. Freedom of Movement. People would score on him too. Doncic not close to being in his prime.
This kid won MVP of the Euroleague at the age of 19. Blows my mind how he didn’t go #1 in the draft and if anyone seriously thought he didn’t have any ooooomph in him. This kids a baller. Always has been. Future is bright. But hopefully Dallas trades him back to the East and he stays there or they take EG and or only 4 first rounders... wishful thinking, I know!
Dirk would do just fine in today's era...he is one of the ones that created this era. His impact on the entire team has always been neglected. He'll end up one of the top five or so scorer's ever in the NBA. For ANYONE to be better than Dirk is an awfully big mantle to saddle them with. That said...he is a lot better now than Dirk was when he started. But he's been playing professionally for several years. I wonder what his ceiling really is. Dirk was still learning, a LOT, his rookie year. Luka has already learned. So, he's nearing his peak earlier. What will that peak actually be? Will be very interesting to watch. He didn't go number 1 because of 1) past performance of other European players and 2) overemphasis on elite ahleticism within the draft process. There was an interesting discussion on Luka's athleticism on radio here recently. One of the bio analytic companies took a look at it. Luka's atheticism is average for NBA players. Not elite, but not bad either (and pretty much ANY NBA player is at an elite level athletically compared to normal people). Two things he was elite at were deceleration (dat step back), and lateral explosion. What he seems to have done (and this is where the Harden comparisons come in again) is take full advantage of the athletic ability he does have. I would also add that lateral explosion is very helpful in defending...one of the reasons he isn't the defensive liability many thought he would be. Another thing that bodes well for his future is he clearly isn't afraid to take control at the end of the game. Dirk developed into one of the elite closers in the NBA, but criticisms of him fading in those moments early in his career were valid. Dirk lacked confidence in his own ability to succeed in the NBA (maybe one of the reasons he's always been so humble)...Luka clearly doesn't have any such problems. Such a player is definitely someone you can build a franchise around. I do hope Dirk's work ethic inspires Luka to do the same. Dirk improved or added something to his game every single year, constantly working on his craft. If Luka does the same, his future is indeed bright.