Kendrick Perkins asserts Luka Doncic is force to reckon with: “I mean he's still a baby, he's still wet behind his ears”
Luka Doncic currently leads the NBA in scoring. The fifth-year Dallas Mavericks superstar has built quite an impressive MVP campaign for himself as the team sits in fourth place in a stacked Western Conference. However, when Dallas squared off with LeBron James and the LA Lakers on Thursday night, the Slovenian star struggled late in the game.
The Lakers closed the gap on a massive deficit in the fourth quarter, largely in part to their defense on Doncic. With the young superstar unable to score, the LA franchise forced overtime. Although they ultimately lost 119-115 in double overtime, the team put Luka Doncic in some uncomfortable, and unfamiliar, positions.
His performance drew criticism from Skip Bayless, who pointed out that after playing all but nine seconds in the fourth quarter, Doncic's stats were nearly empty. The way Kendrick Perkins sees things, at 23 years old, even if Doncic is still refining his game, he's one of the best players on Earth.
"I mean he's still a baby," Perkins said. "He's still wet behind his ears. He haven't even scratched the surface of his prime. His prime doesn't start until the age of 27. But when I look at Luka, he can go down as one of the greatest international players to ever play the game of basketball. He has the complete package, and he's first-team All-NBA.
"He solely relies on his skill set, being a complete basketball player, so we don't have to worry about his athleticism declining. He's going to be here for a long time, and he's going to continue to get better. The last thing I love about Luka, he told us, he said, 'You know what? It's easy to score and get off in the NBA than it is overseas.' And he's backing it up."
You can listen to his comments in the video above at the start of the video.
Luka Doncic proving that it's easier to score in the NBA
In 2019 Luka Doncic famously claimed that it's easier to score in the NBA than it is in Europe. After winning the 2018 Euroleague MVP, the 2018 Liga ACB MVP and a FIBA Club World Cup medal, Doncic knows a thing or two about dominating overseas.
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During an appearance on "The Old Man & the Three" podcast several years ago, Doncic spoke about how surprisingly easy it was to score in the NBA:
"Yeah, I was surprised. I didn't expect in my second year — when I started playing way better than my rookie year — to (do that). When I came to the NBA, I never expected to be this good of a scorer. I was never really a scorer. I was really surprised."
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo agreed with him at the time. Although Giannis' game utilizes his physical advantages more than Luka Doncic, The Greek Freak felt as though the NBA offered more opportunities in the paint.
"The game in Europe is way harder than the game in the NBA," Antetokounmpo said. "And I don't want to disrespect (NBA players). The talent obviously in the NBA is way higher. But the space, it's just (different). Like, you have a lot of lanes to drive the ball and create. I think, over there, it's more intense."
Below, you can view highlights from Luka Doncic and the Mavericks win over the Lakers:
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