DALLAS — As Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic continues to dominate in his NBA career, he draws comparisons to some of the greatest players the league has seen, including LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic has averaged 25.4 points, 8.8 assists, and 8.4 rebounds in 13 games against James, while the Lakers superstar has averaged 28.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in their meetings. In their latest duel, the Slovenian standout led a 127-125 victory, finishing with 33 points and 17 assists.
“I think they’re very similar,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “Both love to win, both basketball IQs are off the charts (and) they make their teammates better.”
With Doncic and James being elite passers with size and great control of pace, they frequently put defenses into challenging situations. Doncic has mastered the art of no-look passing to draw teammates open, often manipulating the weak-side defense within an action based on the coverage.
“I just think their ability to control what’s happening, their vision, the attention that they draw from opposing defenses, and the way they’re able to manipulate those opposing defenses (is a plus),” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It’s probably not any type of scheme or defensive coverage that hasn’t been tried on them.
“Their size, their ability to dictate with the ball in their hands, draw attention without the ball in their hands, account for how and where they are.”
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic guards Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James.Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
With how both Doncic and James process the game, they are strategic about how they will create an advantage before a play develops or remember tendencies to exploit on future plays.
“Having coached against both of them — fortunately now being able to coach LeBron — I just think their mastery from a mental standpoint also, how they think the game seeing stuff three or four steps ahead (is unique),” Ham said. “Just their IQs — both of them are off the charts.”
Another similarity is the desire for Doncic and James to be decision-makers in pivotal moments, whether making the proper basketball play with the pass or being aggressive when an opportunity to score is there.
“They love the opportunity coming down late in the game, wanting the ball, making a decision to win and do all the little things to win,” Kidd said. “So, they’re very similar.”
Beyond the focus on the game itself, the attention both players had from the start of their careers as young superstars is another similarity. However, the longevity that James is achieving as he continues to near the age of 40 remains to be seen if anyone else can rival.
“And they’re both similar in that they were young phenoms that came in — and not just met — but surpassed expectations,” Ham said. “And what ‘Bron is doing right now, he’s creating a new standard.
“We’ll see some of these young guys when they’re 38-39 and (see) if they’re still doing it like he’s doing it — their mastery of the game from a mental and skill standpoint.”
Doncic has gone 2-0 in his matchups against James this season. The next and final regular season meeting involving the Mavs and Lakers will occur on Jan. 17, when the two teams will meet at Crypto.com Arena as part of a two-game West Coast road trip for Dallas.
