“Luka is as special as Bron is … He is a first ballot Hall of Famer” – NBA analyst asserts Luka Doncic is a generational talent in NBA, compliments Mavericks methodically building a winner
Luka Doncic has cemented himself as one of the best players in the league. ESPN's Richard Jefferson believes Doncic is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. During an NBA season preview alongside former NBA vet Channing Frye, the pair spoke about Doncic.
"Luka is as special as Bron is," Jefferson said. "Luka is that type of special, everyone knows. Like LeBron James is gonna go down as one or two depending on what your opinion is Greatest basketball player.
"Luka is that special, the way he plays the game, what he's able to do, the dominance that he's had at an early, early, early age, like the game is a joke for him. He's playing a different game now."
Jefferson said that though Doncic doesn't have the raw athleticism of James, his dominance can't be denied.
"Does he have the physical gifts to play as LeBron? That's yet to be seen, but currently, does he have the same type of 'they're playing a different type of Basketball game then everyone else?' Yes. There's been tons of guys that weren't, weren't like that. There's only been probably about 7 or 8 in probably NBA history."
Jefferson also discussed Doncic's Hall of Fame potential in greater detail.
"Already at this early, at this point in time, he's one of the greatest ever at this age," Jefferson said. "So even if he didn't get any better than what he is right now for the next 10 years, he is a first-ballot Hall of Famer."
Doncic has averaged 26.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game in his four seasons. Those numbers jump to 35.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in the playoffs.
The Mavericks are building methodically
Since drafting Luka Doncic, the Mavericks have continued to work to acquire complimentary pieces. The front office didn't radically shake up the roster after Dallas came up short in the playoffs the last few seasons. However, the Mavericks managed to pick up integral players like Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood.
"I'm glad that the Dallas Mavericks are taking their time and are making sure like, hey, we're going to build this, we're going to build it methodically, we're going to build slow because we have one of the potential greatest players to ever play the game," Jefferson said.
Dinwiddie averaged 15.8 points and 3.9 assists per game with the Mavericks last season. Wood averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last season.