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Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle hates to throw names out there for comparison. But for him, Mavs rookie Luka Doncic has similar traits to LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and basketball legend Magic Johnson.
Per Marc Stein of the New York Times, Carlisle shared his observations on Doncic. For him, the 19-year-old Slovenian is a d0-everything type of star much like James and Johnson:
“I hesitate to throw out names like LeBron James and Magic Johnson, who have been do-everything kind of stars, but it’s pretty clear now that Luka has many of those same traits and has proven that he can do a lot of those things,” Carlisle said. “He has deceptive size, strength and quickness — and an understanding beyond his years on how to use his body to make plays and draw fouls.”
The statistics certainly show it.
Through 56 games, Doncic is averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.7 assists for the Mavs this season. In the history of the league, only five triple-doubles have been recorded by teenagers. He's responsible for four of them. The other one, of course, is the triple-double king himself, Oscar Robertson.
The numbers are just a testament to Doncic's basketball maturity and IQ well beyond his years.
Perhaps the best thing about it is that he has a whole lot of upside potential left. As early as now, he's already being mentioned in the same sentence as the legends.
We can only wonder what will happen when he reaches his potential.
