The NBA has changed a lot since its inception in 1946. The old-school big man game is now a thing of the past as the league’s most modern pace, distance, and playstyle revolves around point guards.
So, guys like Steph, Irving, and Lillard run the league — but who’s the best?
According to Bleacher Report, it’s none of the above. Instead, they ranked Luka Doncic as basketball number one pg.
Can someone knocking down under 32 percent of their threes really be one of the NBA’s most valuable shooters? It turns out yes.
Luka Doncic’s game is not the least bit inefficient. It is just a different brand of efficiency. His 31.8 percent clip from deep comes on absurd volume—9.8 attempts per 36 minutes—and incomprehensible difficulty. Only James Harden and Damian Lillard take a larger share of their triples after using seven or more dribbles, and he’s fourth in points scored off unassisted treys, according to PBP Stats.
Awarding Doncic top-five-player status is not an overreaction to his sophomore climb. He has amplified his game to the distress of opposing defenses. His step-back gather is more nonchalant than that of Harden, and he’s gotten better at leveraging it into opportunities inside the arc. He’s more effective at keeping defenders on his back hip, and he mixes changes in direction with shifts in pace to keep helpers on tilt. (It’d be nice to him mix in more of this variety during crunch-time situations.)
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Following Luka (in order) was Dame, Chris Paul, Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, Kemba Walker, and Ja Morant.
The absence of John Wall and Stephen Curry can be explained by their injuries this past season but having Russ and Kemba outside the top five? That’s downright silly.
Even with his flaws, Russell Westbrook is one of the most unstoppable players in the league. This season, he’s averaging 27.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists per game on 47.4% shooting. As for Kemba, he’s one of the best scorers — averaging 21.2 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on 42% shooting.
And Luka’s ranking at number one? That might be a bit premature. Guys like Lillard, Kyrie, and a lot of other names on the list have spent years building up their resume and earning the respect of their peers.
For as good as Luka has been (and he’s been good), does he deserve his place at the top? That’s for you to decide.
