“He’s a franchise-altering player, he’s a future MVP” - Shannon Sharpe believes former ROTY reminds people of LeBron James
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić has received immense praise from Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe compared the Dončić to LeBron James, who is widely considered to be the greatest player of all time.
On Fox Sports' morning show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," former NFL star Shannon Sharpe waxed lyrical about Luka Dončić. He compared the workload that the Mavericks star has been shouldering to what James has done throughout his career. Sharpe said:
"I think they are very similar. Out of everyone in the league, I think he probably reminds people most of LeBron for the simple fact he's a franchise-altering player, he's a future MVP of the league and like LeBron, he is is asked to do everything.
"He has to score the basketball, he has to rebound the basketball, he has to facilitate the offense and he does that at an extremely high level and he's learning how to control the game without dominating the game."
Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks are gearing up to take on the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals after eliminating the Phoenix Suns in the previous round.
"Luka and LeBron are very similar. Out of everyone in the league, he probably reminds people most of LeBron because he's a franchise-altering player, future MVP and is asked to do everything."
— @ShannonSharpe https://t.co/IkLf3s2P51
Is Shannon Sharpe right to compare Luka Dončić to LeBron James?
Like LeBron James has done throughout his career, Luka Dončić seems to have found a whole new level to his game for the postseason.
The Dallas Mavericks superstar was not in the MVP conversation as household names like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo were finalists in the race.
Dončić went under the radar despite a surge from the Mavericks towards the end of the regular season. Dončić had six games during the regular season with 40 or more points and 13 games with 35 or more. He also had 13 games with 12 or more assists.
Luka Doncic had 27 points in the first half.
The Suns had 27 points in the first half.
Doncic is the first player in the last 25 postseasons to equal or exceed the opposing team's point total in a half. https://t.co/W5Unt2MRzi
This suggests that he is a complete offensive player who improves his teammates, but can also score at a fantastic rate, much like James. These are incredible numbers and very LeBron-esque.
The only issue for Dončić seems to be health. He has constantly struggled with weight and ankle issues throughout his career. This is probably the only reason why he wasn’t in the MVP conversation this year.
Like LeBron's early years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Luka is not surrounded by a single All-Star and is still in the Western Conference finals. Given the way he has performed thus far in his short career, comparisons to James are very much warranted.
He has carried the team and put in performances that even James would be proud of. If he can lead the team to a championship this season, then he is on the trajectory to become as good as James, as Shannon Sharpe suggested.