At the start of every new day, Dallas Mavericks wunderkind Luka Doncic appears to be setting a record somewhere. The update on his historic season with the Mavs for Thursday? With his inclusion among the starting five for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in Chicago, he becomes the youngest player named to a starting lineup since LeBron James did so while a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005.
At 20 years, 353 days on the day of the 2020 All-Star Game, Luka Dončić will become the ninth-youngest athlete to appear in the game and the sixth-youngest to start.
He will be the game’s youngest starter since LeBron James (20 years, 52 days) in 2005.
Full release: pic.twitter.com/Ag1DfbAGC9
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) January 24, 2020
Doncic has thrust himself into the MVP conversation by way of a second-year campaign that has seen him average 29.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9 assists on a nightly basis. He has done all of this while leading Dallas to a 27-16 mark, which has the team tied for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference entering play Thursday.
While many expected Doncic to be an impact player in the league — especially in the wake of being named Rookie of the Year last season — to have his ascension to the top of the league be this swift has been unexpected to say the least.
As the press release from the team points out, Doncic leads the league in triple-doubles (with 12) and he has the third-highest scoring average of a player in his second year since the modern merger.
Joining Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki in the Mavs' record books is nearly always a solid place to be. From what he has put on display over his first season and a half in the league, it's very likely that Doncic will continue to be a staple of the All-Star Game for years to come.
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