With a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals, the Golden State Warriors are nearing a sixth trip to the NBA Finals in the last eight seasons.
They are playing against the Dallas Mavericks, a team that features Luka Doncic, one of the game’s newest and biggest sensations.
Doncic has become a force to be reckoned with because he is a 6-foot-7 point guard who can score tons of points in different ways, get his teammates open shots and grab plenty of rebounds.
Warriors forward Draymond Green says that, although there are a few differences, Doncic is very similar to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
"It feels a lot like playing against LeBron, playing against Luka every possession"@Money23Green sees a lot of similarities between @KingJames and @Luka7Doncic pic.twitter.com/DAHKlfvZCY
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) May 20, 2022
“And speaking of Luka Doncic, and LeBron James, and the comparisons that are being made to those two guys. One of the main, glaring similarities that stick out at you is how those two guys can manipulate a defense, how those two guys can control the pace of a game. At their size, with their passing ability, and the way they can put pressure on the rim, and pressure on the defense, and with the vision that they have, they’re a lot alike. There’s not many people in this league that can control a game, or control the tempo and the pace of a game like that.
“Where I think they differ is Bron will take more transition opportunities where Luka kinda doesn’t, unless it’s just a complete runout. I also think Luka, as great of a passer as he is and he loves to pass the basketball, I think Luka looks for his shot a little bit more than LeBron. Now LeBron is uber-aggressive at times, but he’s more often than not pass-first. Luka is pass-first at times, too, but he’s looking to score more than LeBron in those, from a possession-to-possession situation.
“They definitely have similarities and then you look up and it all makes sense. Luka has said over and over again LeBron was his favorite player growing up. And then you’re actually blessed with that size that Luka has, it all makes sense to why there are similarities there cuz they’re definitely there and it feels a lot like playing against LeBron, playing against Luka every possession.”
While plenty of people are feeling the Doncic-James comparisons, others feel the Slovenian native is much more like Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird.
Doncic plays at a much slower pace than James and lacks his athleticism, speed, explosiveness and leaping ability but has just about everything else Bird had.
Much like Bird, Doncic also appears to have a well-developed killer instinct.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence James recently said Doncic is his favorite young player in the NBA.
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