I’m sure there have been posts like this already but after watching the Mavs-Cavs game last night it must be said again. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Doncic obviously studies Harden unlike any other player out there. Have watched 6 full Mavs games now, the Mavs have a big time talent on their hands. It’s like watching a Euro Harden out there, step-back 3, euro step drive, floater, pick-n-lob, he’s quickly embraced the Harden way. How is it possible that a rookie Euro teenager has the closest game to Harden? Why aren’t there more? Haven’t seen any player in college trying to emulate the Harden way. Are the rising Euro players embracing the Harden way or is Doncic a lone wolf talent? High school players should be, Harden’s game is the future of basketball.
Haven't paid as much attention to the Mavs as I could have, but regardless of how much the kid has studied James (and I wouldn't disagree with you), Cuban has scored big time with Doncic, dammit. Dallas may suck, but Doncic sure doesn't. As for the thread title, OP, I would just add that players on both sides of the Atlantic have to be studying Harden. His epic season has grabbed everyone's attention, even some of the talking heads that plague us.
By definition JH is very popular in EU countries, you will be surprised how many kids trying to copy his game. Balkans are very strong in basketball, and they certainly following the Best.
Doncic was kinda compared to Harden from years, he's just a unique talent just like James, you can't teach/learn what they're doing.
I feel like basketball in Europe is more decision oriented than athelticsm dominant. Young euro kids know they cant get hops and quick firststep cause its already defined by their muscle fibers but they can learn Hardens moves if they put in work
The biggest mystery I’ve encountered in my life is trying to figure out how Doncic slipped to third in the draft.
Doncic is good and has chosen a good mentor That said .. . . . Everyone I meet is saying the Step Back (horrible though they maybe ) is the toast of the YMCA and Gyms across America Every is trying to learn it and use it . . Everyone is doing the Fricking 'Euro Step now" Centers are Euro stepping!! Rocket River
It's a good fit, both of them are quick but not in the top 1% of quick players, so they use their smarts to create separation. You still have to be able to hit the shot with a tiny window. If Doncic is able to absorb contact same as Harden (10+ FTA per game) he could get up there. At the moment he's averaging 20 on 16 shots which is pretty good but not great. Better fitness, training and experience will improve that. With earning pro status early and joining the NBA at a young age and being given the keys, he has certainly earned a head start. That doesn't mean he's going to be Harden though. Barely anyone is going to score an efficient 36.3ppg (along with 8 assists) that is so directly correlated with wins. Doncic might have a chance, but he has a ways to go.
And the funny thing is not 1 week ago on an espn NBA podcast,featuring people who are supposed to be watching and analyzing the NBA, they discussed why Harden wasn’t getting more MVP votes compared to Luka. I kid you not she said well Luka is a totally different player than James. I was beside myself. Luka is a bigger, euro replica of Harden and you’d have to be blind not to see it. And yet, Luka is so fun to watch and Harden makes them vomit,
Harden is in the top 1% of quick players though. Luka is not. “One of the things that makes him so good for his size is he’s got some of the quickest feet I’ve ever seen. He’s got the feet of a ballerina, or a defensive back. He’s in that category of quickness." - John Lucas III
I don't really buy that. He's quick, but these guys are not in the conversation with Fox, prime Westbrook, etc. Harden is elite at picking when to explode and when to stop, it's a brilliant chess game with excellent quickness and elite strength involved.
Of course, if you measure deceleration then your statement applies to literally everyone. That doesn't mean that he won't turn into a perennial All-NBA player. Even if you think about all the """unathletic""" players to ever be the best basketball player in the world at some point in time, you would find they had at least one athletic trait which put them above the rest. Larry Bird: Extreme coordination, impressive quickness at 6' 10", extreme intelligence, pretty strong Dirk Nowitzki: Extreme coordination, near-unmatched quickness at 7' 0", him playing to 40 caused everyone to forget how agile he was for his size in his youth Chris Paul: The best body control ever, +4" APE index (hight vs wingspan, extremely impressive for 6' 0"), insane intelligence Stephen Curry: NBA genes, up there with CP with coordination James Harden: unheard of strength and deceleration, +5" APE index, superhuman spatial awareness And that's not considering the endless hours of training to master their signature moves/skills (contested long jumpers/finishing amongst the giants) The only reason we don't think of the 5 men above as insane athletes is that they didn't dunk enough, and even then, those are the only 5 guys to put up a statistically superior season to everyone else for a year without possessing a once-in-a-generation build in either sheer size (Shaq, Malone (Karl and Moses), LeBron) or explosiveness (MJ, KG, KD, TD, Dr. J). The odds are stacked against Luka to be the very best (for a single season), but as James Harden showed us, if you launch 9+ step-back 3s per game at hit 40% of them, scoring 30+ a game becomes a breeze.
