Nick Wright compares Luka Doncic's performance to greatest performances by Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant: “What he did is harder than Kobe’s 81”
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks has once again gained attention for his insane performance against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. NBA analyst Nick Wright was in awe of how Doncic played.
Doncic made history again after putting up a ridiculous statline where he had 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists to force overtime and get the 126-121 win. This was highlighted by Doncic intentionally missing a free throw and grabbing his own rebound to tie the score at the end of regulation.
With this outing, the energy surrounding the three-time All-Star is at an all-time high. Wright, a vocal fan of Doncic, shared his thoughts on another historic night for the Slovenian:
"I'm just so proud. He works so hard. From the mean streets of inner Slovenia, to put together what was in the regular season, the single-greatest televised performance ever. There's your Mount Rushmore, regular-season NBA performances: Wilt's [Chamberlain] 100 (points), Luka's 60-20-10, Kobe's (Bryant) 81 and an underrated [Michael] Jordan game.
"His team's down nine with 30 seconds left. In the last 20 years, 13,885 teams have been down nine or more with 35 or less seconds left. You know how many of them won? It was zero. Now, it's one.
"What Luka did yesterday is the best regular-season performance in modern NBA history. It does not mean it's the most memorable. It does not mean that people are going to deify it the way they have Kobe's. But what he did yersterday is harder than Kobe's 81, more improbable than Kobe's 81 and more unprecedented than Kobe's 81. No one's ever done it."
Whether Wright is correct with his take, it's good to note that Doncic and Bryant are different players. The Slovenian star is more of an all-around offensive threat with his ability to rack up triple-doubles, while the Black Mamba is a pure, elite scorer.
Also read: Skip Bayless outlines flaw in Luka Doncic’s historic performance: “You got gilt-edge glasses that you watch Luka with”
Can the recent performance of Luka Doncic help his case to win MVP?
Luka Doncic is full of surprises this season. After scoring his seventh triple-double of the season, he drew attention by making NBA history. His 60-point triple-double has also improved his case for winning the MVP award. In the NBA's own Kia MVP Ladder, Doncic was tied with Joel Embiid for seventh place.
The 2018-19 Rookie of the Year is poised to be the frontrunner to win the award again after the game against the Knicks. Doncic could break out with another performance that's similar to what he did a few more times. In doing so, he'll get a chance to have an edge against other candidates in the race.
A generational talent, the Mavs star is a fan-favorite to win the award.
Also read: Luka Doncic cuts an exhausted figure after a miraculous 60-point triple-double: “I’m tired as hell; I need a recovery beer"