Luka Doncic is even better than you think

Did you know that the MVP over the last 8 Euroleague games span is a 17 year old, who can barely grow a moustache? Surely, you have seen clips of Luka Doncic’s unique talent, but do you trully understand his greatness? In the following few hundred worlds and dozen GIFS you will get why this teenage prodigy is considered the best talent Europe has seen during the 24 shot-clock era. After that you will know.

Have you seen the Molto commercial with the Euroleague players asking a teenager to trade a signed ball with his croissant? Printezis comes behind Navarro and asks: “What do you have there kid”?

Imagine that the youngster with the big smile was not a young actor, but a basketball player around the same age. With the same blond hair. With the same smile. Imagine if the teenager sitting on the bench was Luca Doncic and Printezis asked “what do you have there kid”?

Skills. The answer is “skills”. Crazy, eye-popping, jaw-dropping, viral-to-be skills.

That’s Luca Doncic. A 17-year-old kid who does things never done before in the 24" shot-clock era of European basketball. Yeap! He is that good. He is the best youngster we have ever seen. One can relate him only to teenagers that shined in the 90’s like Dejan Bodiroga (once a 18-year-old pro playing in Italy), Juan Carlos Navarro and Pau Gasol, who debuted at the tender age of 16 with the blaugrana jersey over their shoulders, enjoying the support of a great coach like Aito Reneses. But, wait a minute. We are talking about the all-time scoring leader in Euroleague and a NBA player with more than 1.100 games played in the States, two rings, two silver Olympic medals, one world championship and three Eurobaskets won.

And “Doncic” appears in the same sentence? Yes. For sure.

And we can dare to say that Doncic has done more than any other legend-to-be at his age. Although he has not even blown 18 candles on his cake, he managed to gain a significant role in Real Madrid, a Euroleague title contender. And not only that:

1. If we isolate the last 8 Euroleague games (since the last day of the first round — 29/30 of December) Luca Doncic has the best ranking. Among all players. A 17-years-old kid.

Since 29 of December he numbers 11.4 points, 5.8 rebounds (best among guards), 6.2 assists (2nd if we compare with the total stats) and 22.7 ranking! He tops Brad Wannamaker (21.8), Keith Langford (20.2), Ekpe Udoh (19.3) and Mike James (19.3).

2. He is the second member of an exclusive club of players showcasing more than 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists during the 2016–17 season.

The other one is Nick Calathes, Euroleague and Eurocup winner, with a solid run in the NBA with the Grizzlies. The Greek point guard has 11 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists. But, Doncic, is shooting better (42% to 27% behind the arc and 84% to 45% from the charity stripe), playing 10 minutes less and is adding up a better ranking than Calathes (14.1 to 13.8).

The best 17-year-old we have ever seen

There were a lot ot wonder-boys that set foot in a Euroleague hardwood in the past. Many of them had great careers (like Vasileiadis, Zisis, Kalnietis), some of them still try to find their place under the spotlight (Musa, Charalampopoulos, Lountzis, Korkmaz, Osman). Others, shined bright and went to the NBA, like Bargnagni, Gallinari, Saric, Hezonia and Petro. But, most of them were older when they made a name of themselves: Bargagni was 20 when he averaged 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in Benneton, Gallinari was 19 when he had 14.9 points and 4.2 points in Milano, Hezonia was 19 when he was an actual member in Barcelona’s rotation with 7.7 points and 2.0 rebounds and Saric had to reach 20 years of age before getting a starting role in Efes (9.9 points, 6.4 rebounds). And then there are guys like Petro, a skilled underachieving French big man, who got playing time when he was 17, but never got a leading role in Pau Ortez before signing an NBA contract at the age of 19.

Who is left? Ricky Rubio and Jan Vesely. Rubio is still the youngest player ever to score in an Euroleague game. He debuted at 15 in ACB and at 16 in Euroleague, playing for Joventut Badalona. He had 3.6 points, 2.0 asists in 18 minutes at his rookie season with “Penya”. But, he was 19 and had already won a Copa Del Rey and a Eurocup trophy, when he moved to Barcelona (a top level team like Real) getting a role similar to the one Doncic has right now.

As for Vesely? He became part of Partizan’s rotation when he was 18 years-old. He played at the “3-spot” under Dusco Vujosevic. He had 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19 minutes. But, still. Doncic has better stats, in a better team and he has shining, despite being one year younger than the Czech.

After dealing with the question of “how good is he”, let’s see why he is so good. What makes him unique?

Four things: his size, his skills, his basketball IQ and his character. The whole package. Everything a player needs. He is the real deal.

Size

He is 2.01 and plays point. He is big and lengthy , so he can gain what he lacks in athletic abilities. He is still young, but you can tell that he will never be a flashy guard, with an explosive first step.

He uses his size to beat opponents. He is an excellent passer because he can see all the passing opportunities. He can rise above the defense and connect with any of his teamates, whether defense hedges or goes to a more neutral “flat” tactic.

The way he uses his size to beat the defender that goes over the screen (or forcing him down) is textbook material. He changes his pace, put the opponent at his back and creates the space he needs to operate.

He loves passing. He ends up passing at a rate of 58% through the pick-n-roll he runs. In contrast with most of the Euroleague guards, who are considered shoot-first and have a scoring mentality, he prefers the skip pass to the weak side for a spot-up shoot. He is not a stat-loving guard who only looks the first-rotation pass to the big man. A pass that usually ends up counted as an “assist”.

He rarely blows by opponents. He thrives in hesitation moves, body fakes and reading the feet of the player against him. He doesn’t need to get past the defender. He needs only to reach the paint and finish using his size.

Size gives him also the ability to play three positions in the line-up, makes him a solid rebounder and also a post-up threat. He is making his first shyly steps towards that back-to-the-basket direction, but still has a lot of room for improvement.

Skills

His skill-set and playing style bring to mind the excellence of Dejan Bodiroga and the brillience of Thodoris Papaloukas. Both of them were big (the Serbian is 2.04 and “Theo” is measure at 2.00) and used their big body, their mind and their technique to beat defenders.

Doncic reads his opponents’ feet like Bodiroga. Plus, he is bringing to the table Deki’s notorious up-and-under.

He also reminds Papaloukas when he does that pass-fake, or when he finishes with style near the rim.

Moreover, Doncic has other aces hidden under his sleeve. His offensive arsenal features a trustworthy pull-up shot (neither Bodiroga, or Papaloukas had one). A great weapon for a player who cannot create separation through explosiveness. It is always good to get defenders off balances, using the fear of shooting. Like Teodosic.

Doncic shoots 42% behind the arc and puts up solid numbers in terms of spot-up and catch-n-shoot situations. He can drain the open shot and he can make a shot of the dribble (either right or left).

Despite his youth he is a great pick-n-roll player. That is why Laso pairs him up with Othelo Hunter, the team’s best pick-n-cut big man. He gets the 31.4% of his total points through the on-ball screen. He also has a shining 1.223 pick-n-roll PPP (via Synergy). That’s the 5th best in the competition, behind two small-forwards who rarely run on-ball screens (Pnini and Schilb) and two point-guards (Waters and Prigioni), who had fewer possessions.

He can shoot, he can penetrate and he can pass. He does it all. But, first he attacks the defense using hesitation moves.

Or he exploits one of Pablo Lasos’ favorite plays, in which he gets a pick from another guard and uses the defense’s dilemma (switch or no switch) to attack. In this situation he prefers to make the weak side pass, because the corner defender is the only who can come to help.

He is right-handed, but moves like a lefty. He trusts more his left penetration, that is why in the most pick-n-roll situation he calls the big man to set the screen towards his left lane.

Basketball IQ

You have to love the way a teenager, who can barely grow a moustache, runs the No1 team in the standings. He shines in the free-style offense of Pablo Laso, a philosophy that gives a lot of freedom to the ball-handlers.

With Doncic at “1” Real runs a lot of pick-n-rolls, leaving him the space to make decisions. Against Unics he dished out 11 dimes (career-high). Like these:

The right way to measure talent is through passing. It shows the way a player can look ahead, it tells a lot about a players imagination, class and sharp-eye.

Doncic can read the floor and makes choices that suit veteran players, not 17-year-old prodigies.

Just look at the following video.

Doncic runs the offense. He signals to his teammates to proceed with a high-low. He has already located the mismatch. When nothing comes out of it, he calmely re-locates himself, calls for the pick and creates.

Character

Still not amazed? What would you think if I told you that he is one of the most effective players in terms of the “short clock” (4 second or less). He ranks as “excellent” in Synergy and features a 1.034 PPP.

Against Efes he took matters into his own hands with less than 2 minutes on the clock and the game tied at 75. One -on-one, between the legs, cross-over, back-step, net. He finished the game with 10 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and a career-high 32 ranking.

Against Zalgiris he had to step up, because of Sergio Llull’s abscence. He had to fill the shoes of the Euroleague’s best closer and he did it with quite a style. He made two consecutive three pointers (1.37' to go and 44'’ to go), to break the tie (86–86) and seal the deal.

And he was like nothing happened. Another day in the office.

This is Luca Doncic. We have to admit he is even better than everybody thinks. It looks like he is playing at his back-yard, even though he stars in the top-level. In one play he reads the weak side rotation and finds the open man like he is 30+ veteran and in the next play he awes the crowd with a care-free laser pass to the big man. It is amazing. Both effecient and flashy. After all, we know that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.

Luca can be anything he wants. He can become a Euroleague legend or a NBA star. He can break any barrier. What he will never be is dull.

The article was first published (in Greek) in Sport24.gr