Luka Doncic scariest in West over 'senior citizen' LeBron James per Lakers star's former teammate
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been playing the best basketball arguably in his career, and this has garnered attention from NBA analysts alike, notably Kendrick Perkins.
The 2009 NBA champion appeared in a SportsCenter segment where he discussed Luka Doncic's recent success. He explored the reasons behind Doncic's historic numbers, which are unparalleled in the league.
Perkins said:
"When it comes down to Luka, it's only one player right now in today's game, and no disrespect to LeBron because he's walking, you know he's a senior citizen, but it's only one other player that dominates the game like Luca does on the offensive end and that's Nikola Jokic."
Perkins continued:
"Right now Luca is a younger version of a LeBron James minus the athleticism. The way that he could score the basketball, leading the league in scoring, but it's the other areas for me. He is a rebounding machine at 6'7" at the point forward position, the way he's able to make guys around him better."
Luka Doncic etched his name into NBA annals Saturday, becoming the first player to achieve six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles, propelling the Mavs to a 142-124 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Luka Doncic's historic streak comes to an end on Monday night against Chicago Bulls
In Monday's 127-92 triumph over the Chicago Bulls, Luka Doncic came in with several historic triple-double streaks on the line.
Although he secured a triple-double, amassing 27 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, the game's wide margin prevented him from staying in long enough to extend his streaks of triple-doubles with at least 30 or 35 points.
Although Doncic's other historic streaks concluded, he tied the NBA record for consecutive 20-point triple-doubles with his seventh such performance, aligning him with legends Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players to reach this milestone.
Heading into the fourth quarter with a commanding 98-64 lead over the Bulls, both Doncic and Kyrie Irving took to the court to start the final period.
At that juncture, Doncic had already compiled 24 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. He was merely six points shy of continuing his remarkable streak.
Early in the fourth quarter, Doncic nailed a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, elevating his points total to 27.
Despite several attempts, he couldn't connect on multiple step-back 3-pointers to reach the benchmark and was substituted out for the last time with 6:09 left in the game.
Earlier in the day, Doncic was awarded the Western Conference Player of the Week from March 4 to March 10. He boasted an average of 37.7 points, 10.7 assists and 10.3 rebounds, leading Dallas to a 2-1 record during this span.