One of the most impressive storylines of the National Basketball Association regular season to date has been the well-rounded play of second-year Slovenian star Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. After winning the NBA rookie of the year in 2018-19, Doncic has taken his game to an even higher level in 2019-20.
Forget about Doncic being a future NBA superstar. He is shining now and in a big way.
On Monday, Doncic became the second-youngest player in NBA history to score 40 or more points and get a triple-double in the process as the Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 117-110. Doncic’s remarkable statistical line was 42 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. The youngest player to achieve the mark was LeBron James in 2005.
According to The Score, Doncic now has 14 career triple-doubles. It is the most triple-doubles ever for a player before the age of 21. The old record belonged to Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had seven.
According to Rotowire, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has called him a “unique” and “unusual” point guard. Known for his outstanding versatility, Doncic seems more like a shooting guard than your traditional pass-first point guard. At 6’7″, he is also significant taller than active point guards such as Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.
Also heading into the season, there were questions surrounding Doncic’s overall shooting efficiency, which prevented him from entering “elite fantasy status,” according to Rotowire. It is fair to say, Doncic has now arrived at that level. He is currently ranked seventh in the Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball rankings and has seen his statistics improve in 2019-20 from 2018-19. Doncic’s field goal percentage has increased from 42.7% to 47.7%, his free throw percentage has improved from 71.3% to 81.1%, and he is averaging 29.5 points per game in 2019-20 from 21.2 points per game last year.
Doncic is also emerging as a skilled rebounder and passer. He is averaging 10.7 rebounds per game and 9.3 assists per game.
The Mavericks are looking to make the postseason for the first time in four seasons. With a record of eight wins and five losses, Dallas is on the rise in the Western Conference with Doncic as an important catalyst to their unit.
