Luka Doncic is arguably the best rising star in today's NBA and is in line for a historic contract this offseason. In his young career, he has already racked up a good amount of triple-doubles, made two time All-Star appearances, and took the Mavericks to two straight postseason appearances. In every game, Luka is proving to everyone that he is almost impossible to stop one-on-one. With his crafty maneuvers, he can simply blow by bigger matchups. When faced with smaller defenders, Luka can easily post them up and bully his way to the rim. His wide offensive arsenal is simply overwhelming the league.
Although Luka is establishing himself as the future face of the league, there is no question that he isn’t alone. There are still a handful of rising stars who make a valid case that they can be the best player of the NBA someday. For this piece, let’s take a look at five young stars who can still catch up to Luka Doncic as the future face of the NBA.
Honorable Mention
Zion Williamson proved this season that he was a legitimate No. 1 overall pick. He averaged an impressive 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting over 61% from the field. However, Zion still has a lot to prove in terms of team success and whether or not he can turn the Pelicans into a consistent playoff contender. With the Pelicans failing to reach the postseason again this year, there are other young stars who have made drastic impact to their teams that solidified their cases. Because of this, we will deem Zion as an honorable mention, but he could change that in the coming seasons.
Ja Morant
Drafted in the same class as Zion, Ja Morant is matching the hype as the face of the Grizzlies franchise.
The reigning Rookie of the Year was incredible this season. He not only put up 19.1 points and 7.4 dimes per game, but he also helped Memphis make the playoffs by knocking out the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament.
Although the Grizzlies were eliminated by the Utah Jazz in five games in the first round, Morant didn’t fail to show promise in his playoff debut. He led the charge in pulling an upset against the top-seeded Jazz in Game 1 by dropping 26 points. Furthermore, he followed up that performance by scoring 47 points in Game 2, which was a franchise record and an NBA record for most points in a playoff game scored by a player aged 21 years or younger.
Morant is one of the most competitive young stars in the league today. With his scoring and athleticism, it is still possible for Morant to chase Luka Doncic as a future face of the league.
Donovan Mitchell
The Jazz finished as the best team in the West this season thanks in large part to Donovan Mitchell. The guard put up the most productive season of his career, averaging 26.4 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game.
At just 24 years of age, there is no question that Mitchell is still going to improve, and he has already accomplished a lot. In four seasons, Mitchell has led the Jazz to four straight postseason appearances. Furthermore, he also has two All-Star selections under his belt.
With the Jazz advancing to the second round, there is no doubt that Mitchell can further solidify himself as the future face of the league. Mitchell is looking healthy after coming off an ankle injury. In fact, Mitchell battled allergies in Game 5 and scored an impressive 30 points to close out Memphis.
If Mitchell can retain his intensity and health throughout the playoffs, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him reach the NBA Finals or even win a championship. Of course, winning the elusive NBA ring should immediately put him in the conversation alongside Luka Doncic.
Trae Young
If there is a player who is highly linked with Luka Doncic on this list, it would be Trae Young. As we all know, the Hawks infamously traded the rights to Luka to the Mavericks in exchange for Young and a first-round pick. Luckily for the Hawks, Young is now considered one of the best rising stars in the NBA today.
Young has one All-Star selection and is one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, along with being an excellent playmaker. More importantly, he just led the Hawks to their first playoff appearance since 2017. Young led the charge for Atlanta, putting up 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game. The Hawks finished as the fifth seed in the East.
The spitfire guard is making a good account of himself in his playoff debut. Young averaged 29.2 points and 9.8 assists in the first-round series against the New York Knicks to help the team advance to the second round. If there is one thing that puts Young ahead of Luka, it would be the fact that the former has taken his team past the first round, something the latter has yet to achieve.
With Young capable of shooting from limitless range, there’s no question he has the potential to dominate the league the same way Stephen Curry did. Because of this, he should be part of the future face conversation.
Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum is one of the most lethal scorers in the league today. In fact, he made the top 20 in scoring in each of the past two seasons. Just recently, he even dropped 60 points this season against the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite being only 23, Tatum has already collected numerous accolades in his career. He has two All-Star selections and made All-NBA in 2019-20. Tatum has led the charge for the Celtics, helping them make the postseason in four straight years, including an Eastern Conference Finals stint in 2018.
Just like in recent years, Tatum was great in 2020-21, even despite battling COVID-19. With the Celtics’ playoff berth at stake in the play-in tourney, he dropped 50 points against the Washington Wizards to book a spot in the postseason. Unfortunately, Tatum and the Celtics faced the star-studded Nets in the first round. Nevertheless, despite losing in five games, Tatum fought gallantly and went for another 50-point outing to snatch their lone win in the series.
There’s no doubt Tatum is a MVP in the near future. Furthermore, if he can take the Celtics to another level, he shouldn’t fall short to be considered as the face of the NBA.
Devin Booker
Devin Booker’s versatile scoring ability makes him one of the hardest players to guard. More importantly, he is only getting better. The Suns star finally translated his individual greatness into team success. This season, he put up 25.6 points per game to help Phoenix not only finish as the second seed in the West but also to end the franchise’s playoff drought since 2010.
Booker, however, wasn’t content just being part of the postseason festivities. He did serious damage against the Los Angeles Lakers by registering 29.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in the series, including a 47-point explosion in Game 6 to send LeBron James and the defending champs home early.
Not a lot of players can explode for points against an elite team like the Lakers the way Booker did, and he can still be even better if his 3-point shooting gets more consistent. Although Luka Doncic's polished all-around game is near unstoppable, Booker’s lights-out scoring should be up there. If anything, his scoring performances show shades of the late Kobe Bryant.
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