Subscribe
Follow Us
Back in 2018, as he was just a week away from seeing his NBA dream realized as the 3rd pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Luka Doncic sat down with Bleacher Report's Howard Beck for an exclusive interview, and said the following when asked about the tattoo of a tiger on his left forearm: “I just like tigers. I said if I go to U.S., I will buy a tiger—like Mike Tyson.”
Six years later, now as he's just a week away from making his first NBA Finals appearance with the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic once again finds himself channeling Mike Tyson. No, it's not because he kept his word and bought a tiger (at least that I know of)… it's because like Mike Tyson did so often in the prime of his career, Luka Doncic has a knack for knocking opponents out before they even get settled into the metaphorical fight.
Following Doncic's 20-point 1st quarter in the Mavericks close-out win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, FS1's Emmanuel Acho echoed this sentiment.
“Luka, to me, is like Mike Tyson in his prime. He has the ability to knock you out before you even get to the second round.”
Emmanuel Acho giving Luka Doncic his flowers 🔥
(via @SpeakOnFS1)pic.twitter.com/mHTSgSkQkB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 31, 2024
It's not just that 1st quarter against Minnesota in Game 5, or the 1st half against Phoenix in 2022 that Emmanuel Acho mentioned. Game in and game out, the idea of Luka Doncic knocking you out before you even realize you're in a fight remains a constant threat. Consider, in his postseason career, Luka Doncic averages 31.1 points per game, trailing only Michael Jordan's 33.5 points. In those 45 NBA Playoff games that Doncic has played in, he's averaging 9.7 points per 1st quarter, with eight games of at least 14 points in the opening frame. That number is right on par with his 2023-24 season average of 9.8 points per 1st quarter, the 2nd-highest mark in the league behind Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.
And do I need to remind you that there may not be a more dangerous or confident 4th quarter closer in the NBA than Luka Doncic?
Luka Doncic: “The Baddest Man on the Planet”
Legendary boxing historian Bert Sugar once said of Mike Tyson, “This man was a killer. He came in to destroy you, and you knew it.” Only a guy who possessed the kind of speed and power that Tyson did could call himself “The Baddest Man on the Planet” without anybody batting an eye. Now, at least on the hardwood, nobody is more deserving of that moniker than Luka Doncic.
This goes beyond the points scored, though. It's the mindset. It's the intimidation factor. It's knowing you have someone standing across the court from you — or in Mike Tyson's case, the ring — who wants to rip your heart out of your chest and watch you bleed out. For Tyson, he bludgeoned opponents with one perfectly timed combo after another until finally, in the blink of an eye, one massive right handed ended things.
For Luka Doncic, it's a little more methodical. He doesn't possess the mind-numbing power or speed like Tyson did. Even Luka himself would admit that. But he does carve opponents up with precision, a la a young Mike Tyson — whether that be the perfect hit ahead pass after a defensive rebound, a cross-court no-look dime to the opposite corner, a savvy mid-range turnaround jumper, or a step-back three that's punctuated by some trash talk in his native Slovenian, which always seems to be coming out in perfect English.
Against the 64-win Boston Celtics, the Dallas Mavericks may need Luka Doncic to go full Tyson on more than one occasion. The Celtics are talented and deep and they have home court advantage, but one common critique of Boston is that that tighten up when they face adversity.
Luka Doncic is a one-man adversity-creating machine who will no doubt come in to Game 1 of the NBA Finals looking to destroy the Celtics and the entire city of Boston.
