Dallas Mavericks: Stop trying to compare Luka Doncic to everyone

The Dallas Mavericks have what appears to be a generational talent in Luka Doncic, but for some reason we’ve been obsessed with unfairly comparing him to every Hall of Famer under the sun.

The Dallas Mavericks are enjoying one of their most successful starts in years and much of the reason why has been the absolutely spectacular play of Luka Doncic. Doncic, 20-years-old, has forced himself into the MVP conversation in just his second NBA season.

The 2018-19 Rookie of the Year is continuing to raise the bar with his play and is only 0.3 assists shy of averaging a triple-double this season. Only two players in NBA history have achieved that over the course of an entire season. Let that sink in.

Luka’s greatness is best explained through comparisons. Pro Basketball Reference has been an awesome tool for media everywhere. It’s customize-able and searchable database is easy to use and very telling. Basically, Luka’s achieving feats only the all-time greats have. And in many cases, it’s only one or two of them who have.

But with these statistical comparisons come an endless steam of actual player comparisons. Every week, in every city, we hear players and coaches offer up who they think Luka resembles. I find myself pondering the hybrid lovechild who best describes Luka (I’m a fan of him being a Chris Paul–Larry Bird mixture).

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But why are we so obsessed with this need to dub him “the second coming of…”? If Luka Doncic really is a generational talent, doesn’t that make him incomparable? Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of comparing his progression to that of others. It’s a great way to appreciate his greatness and to properly evaluate his progression. But beyond that, can’t we kill the constant talk about who he’s like?

The Dallas Mavericks are kicking off a tough stretch on their schedule starting today. It’s likely Doncic’s gaudy numbers are going to dip a bit. This will likely stabilize a couple of these player comparisons but probably not for long.

We shouldn’t feel the need to constantly call him “the less athletic version of (insert Hall of Famer here)”, or “a mix between (enter two vastly different players here)”. Luka is what appears to be generational. He’s defining his own game. And very likely, one day we’ll be annoying new superstar players with Doncic comparisons.

It’s only natural to compare current players to older players but what good does it really serve and how accurate can it really be? Let’s cool it with the need to constantly compare because if Luka Doncic really is generational, then he’s incomparable anyway.

• Published on 11/24/2019 at 17:01 PM
• Last updated at 11/24/2019 at 10:26 AM