Luka Doncic Is a BASKETBALL GENIUS! 7 Reasons He's Already an NBA Superstar

Although he didn't win a medal in Tokyo, Luka Doncic's inaugural Olympic performance was nothing but gold. Doncic's performance at the Olympics was legendary. It proved why Luka Doncic is a basketball genius. Number seven, a legendary debut at the Olympics. Luka Doncic led Slovenia to a 118-100 victory over Argentina in his Olympic debut, scoring 48 points, tied for the second highest total in men's basketball history. Doncic scored 31 points in the first half of Slovenia's first Olympic game, putting him on pace to beat the game's scoring record, a 55, set by Brazilian Hall of Famer Oscar Schmidt in 1988. Although he didn't have to do as much in the second half due to Slovenia's large lead, the Dallas Mavericks superstar guard stayed on the court far into the fourth quarter, ultimately tying with Eddie Polubinskis, who had 48 for Australia in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Manu Ginobili, the Argentine legend, was pleased, tweeting at halftime that Doncic was a beast, with tremendous knowledge of the game. Even before going on to win Rookie of the Year accolades in the NBA, Doncic had previously demonstrated that ability while playing in Europe. He became the first NBA player to average 30 points, eight boards, and eight assists in his first postseason series in his second season. Doncic was the undisputed standout of the Slovenian team, and possibly in the entire competition. However, because of all the attention he received, opposition opponents were forced to leave other Slovenian players free, and Doncic was happy to pass the ball to them. Number six, how the Mavericks have gained from Luka. Luka Doncic has quickly established himself as one of the NBA's best players. Doncic has the potential to be an all-time great, and the Dallas Mavericks have a jewel on their hands in him. Dirk Nowitzki is often regarded as the greatest Maverick player. Doncic, on the other hand, may give Nowitzki a run for his money if he can continue his career in Dallas. In his first two seasons, Doncic's stats were much higher than Nowitzki's. In his first season, Nowitzki averaged 8.2 points a game, and in his second, he averaged 17.5 points a game. You wouldn't believe it, but Doncic performed more like a veteran in the league as a rookie. His game was incredibly mature, and he didn't appear to be a rookie when you watched him play. He had a great basketball IQ and could score in a variety of ways. Now, during his debut season, Doncic also helped his teammates improve. Doncic will undoubtedly end his career as one of the franchise's all-time leading scorers. It's just a question of where he'll land. However, it will be close to Nowitzki's 31,560 points. Doncic is doing an incredible job right now, and because he's still young, he'll just get better and have more room to improve. The Mavericks must make every effort to keep him in Dallas. Number five, he resembles young James. Luka Doncic idolized LeBron James as a kid. He's the same age as James was when he delivered his masterpiece against the Pistons at 22 years old, and he had a game that was remarkably similar to the one that set the 2007 James Cavaliers on the way to the finals in the Dallas Mavericks 105-100 game five victory against the LA Clippers. The parallels are virtually tough to overlook. James had 48 points, nine boards, seven assists. That adds up to a total of 64. Doncic led the team with 42 points, eight boards, and 14 assists. That adds up to 64. Surprisingly, LeBron's teammates only managed to score 61 points. Luka got a score of 63. Cleveland's final 30 points involved James, who scored 29 of them. Doncic was involved in 31 of Dallas's 37 field goals, scoring or assisting on 31 of them. Both games were held away from home, and both of these games came in game five. James defeated a former champion who had knocked him out the previous year. Doncic defeated Kawhi Leonard, a former finals MVP who had knocked him out a year before. Number four, he's a good leader. Since the time Luka arrived in the NBA, it was clear that he wasn't just a great talent, but one who was ready to lead a team to a win against any opponent in any playoff series in any arena. Against the LA Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, Doncic was outstanding. But in game five at the Staples Center, he was otherworldly, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 105-100 victory and a 3-2 series lead against the Clippers. The third-year guard led from the start, finishing with 42 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds while wearing tape all over his injured left shoulder. It was his fourth game with 40 points or more in the 11 playoff games, all against the Clippers. And yet, this game was the most stunning of the bunch. Doncic was involved in 31 of Dallas' 37 made field goals, accounting for 84% of the team's total. Doncic is only the third player in NBA history to score or assist on 80% or more of his team's field goals in the postseason. That's according to sources. "'Luca Doncic is, he's just one of the toughest players I've ever seen, ever been around,' Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "'He's just a warrior-type guy that happens to be one of the very best players in the world. He's the engine that drives our offense. There's no secret there. But this is a responsibility that he covets. I believe he views it as a privilege.'" Number three, best performance. Luca has performed insanely in so many games that picking just one performance from all of those is nearly impossible. But if we had to, we'd choose last season's game five versus the Clippers as the best, given the stakes and the outcome. Doncic finished with 42 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds. He also had a steal and four mistakes, which is an extremely low amount considering the opponent's skill in athleticism. He took 37 shots, made six of 12 three-pointers. Strangely, out of those 37 shots, he only shot three free throws. In the 42 minutes and 31 seconds that Luca was on the court, the Mavericks outscored the Clippers by 15 points. However, the Mavericks were outscored by 10 points in the five minutes and 29 seconds he was not on the court. So talk about making an impact with your performance. Number two, the most valuable Maverick, most valuable player. That was the impossibly high expectation Luca Doncic faced as he entered this season as a 21-year-old MVP favorite. He did not quite live up to that lofty expectation, finishing sixth in MVP voting, but he was the most valuable Maverick by far. Luca averaged 27.7 points, eight rebounds, 8.6 assists, one steal, and a half a block per game this season. He made 47.9% of his field goals, 35% of his three-point attempts, and a dismal 73% of his free throw attempts. He also averaged 4.3 mistakes per game, which is not as bad as it seems given his massive playmaking and scoring responsibility. Doncic was also more durable in 2020-21 as he only missed six games, largely owing to rest and the condensed schedule after missing 10 and 14 games respectively in his first two seasons. Following an unexpectedly short off-season, he arrived at camp in less than ideal shape. As a shooter, Luca's game has progressed the most this season. Luca is arguably the best offensive weapon that the league has ever seen when he makes off-triple threes. It's a remarkable development that he improved his percentage to about league average during the regular season and then increased it to over 41% at over 10 attempts per game during the playoffs. Number one, he is a top five player. Luca arrived in the NBA as Europe's greatest player and soon established himself as one of the league's best European players. He demonstrated his skillset and his figures were far from what one would expect from a novice in his initial years. Even though his game was like a seasoned veteran, he was still a rookie in the NBA. His skillset stayed basically the same throughout but he was no longer the same player. He has improved many key elements of his game since his first year. He increased his utilization as well as his score. Each year, he improved his shooting percentage, especially his EFG percentage, which is now at its peak. The stats show that 2021 will be his finest year ever. Luca Dankic's 21 stats obviously will place him in contention for the top honors. After all, unlike many other players who lost significant time this season, he has played in the majority of the games. The Mavs would not have made the playoffs if it weren't for Luca. Therefore, his value to the franchise is enormous. That clearly places him among the league's top five players. What do you make of Luca's tremendous talent with the ball? Let us know in the comments below. Hey, we hope you enjoyed watching this video as much as we enjoyed bringing it for you. We'll see you next time. Goodbye.