LeBron James is a generational talent, and fans may never see a player like him again. But many believe that Luka Doncic could be the next LeBron.
Sure, Doncic is dominating the game of basketball, but former NBA player Iman Shumpert explained why he cannot be the next LeBron James. Shumpert believes the most crucial reason behind it is the lack of athleticism in Luka. He explained that in a 2022 interview with Vlad TV.
“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. 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.”
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As Shumpert mentioned, Doncic has a playing style similar to James Harden. The Dallas Mavericks superstar is a high-volume shooter and relies more on jump shots than attacking the rim.
LeBron, on the other hand, has always been a menace in the paint. Moreover, throughout his career, James has stacked highlights of flashy dunks and athletic plays. Keeping that in mind, it’s much harder to sell a player like Doncic as the face of the league and fill in the shoes of James when he retires.
So far, Doncic has averaged 27.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 8.0 APG over five seasons. In the first five seasons of his career, James averaged 27.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 6.6 APG.
But a huge difference between the two superstars’ careers is the fact that James had already led the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA Finals appearance. Sure, the Cavs were swept in the 2007 NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs. But leading a mediocre team to the biggest stage in the league at 22 years old isn’t something that fans get to see every day.
Doncic is yet to achieve that. The farthest that he has managed to lead the Mavericks is the Western Conference Finals in the 2022 NBA playoffs.
LeBron James Loves Luka Doncic’s Game
LeBron James could retire from the NBA this summer. With that being said, the NBA may rely on Doncic to become the next face of the league.
While many may doubt that Doncic is up to that task, James is certainly a fan of the European superstar’s game. The King named a few things why he loves Doncic’s playing style.
“His size. I mean he’s gigantic. A 6-8 point guard. He’s 225 pounds. He has the ball on a string. And more importantly, his vision.”
It must have felt great for Doncic to get praised by the best player of this generation. But can he become the next LeBron James? One way to do that would be to get in elite shape ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.
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