Over the years, LeBron James has dominated the court and has been the face of the NBA. But as years have gone by, several new stars have emerged who have earned comparisons with James, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Recently Dallas Mavericks talisman Luka Doncic has earned appreciation for his exceptional level of play.
People have already drawn comparisons with LeBron as many fans feel Doncic has shades of the Akron Hammer. Even LeBron has shared that Doncic is among his favourite players. He is one of the players with whom LeBron wishes to share the court one day along with Bronny and Stephen Curry.
However in an interview with VladTV former NBA player Iman Shumpert highlighted that DOncic is very good but lacks the athleticism like Lebron James. He said, “I just don’t see him having the athletic edge that I have seen LeBrons, and Kobes, and Mikes have. That’s usually your breaking point, where it’s like you can do some freakishly athletic stuff nobody can do about. I just think after a while, somebody is going to stop the step-back stuff.”
However Shumpert compared DOncic with James Harden and felt that the Slovenian is more similar to ‘The Beard’. He shared how players will eventually find out Doncic’s step back three making him less effective. Shumpert shared how it will be tough for Doncic to dominate the NBA like LeBron James and win multiple NBA Championships.
“It’s no way I can watch James Harden do that for that long and not win and then look at Luka, like okay, you gonna step back with your right hand, but yours is gonna work. You can prove me wrong, but I don’t see the same type of dominance of LeBron coming from Luka.”
Shumpert shared how Doncic does not have the similar athleticism and size like LeBron for him to dominate the floor for as long as the King. But Doncic has many other qualities and therefore he is labelled as a generational talent. His performances in the clutch have also been really very good and much better than Harden in recent years. Hence he is superstar ready and in the coming years people expect big things from the Slovenian.
The Dallas Mavericks need to support Doncic with more influential talent as they struggle against the Warriors as they trail 3-1 after four matches. While Doncic has been sensational, his supporting cast has not turned up yet.