Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are currently competing in one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the world, the EuroBasket tournament. This is the European Championship of basketball and was last held in 2017 when an underdog Slovenian team led by Goran Dragic and an 18-year-old Doncic came away with the Gold medal.
Slovenia is looking much better now and are among the favorites to win this year’s tournament as well. Despite a shock loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia is looking strong. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece is currently undefeated and looking extremely dangerous so far.
Doncic is among the 3 best players at the tournament and has previously said that he only watches Greece and Serbia play to keep an eye on Giannis and Nikola Jokic. After he was asked who will have the most points in a single game at this year’s EuroBasket, Doncic responded by naming Giannis and claiming it was an easy answer.
A reporter asked Luka Doncic who he thinks will score the most points in a single EuroBasket game this tournament — himself, Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Luka: “Probably Giannis. Easy answer.”
Why?
“Why? [eye roll] Because he’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.”
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) September 6, 2022
Is Luka Doncic On The Level Of Giannis Antetokounmpo And Nikola Jokic?
When it comes to looking at career accomplishments, it is hard to compare Luka to Giannis and Jokic. The last 4 MVPs in the NBA have been won by these two big men, with Jokic on a 2 season MVP streak right now. Doncic is expected to be one of the favorites for the award next season.
Doncic is being humble by not naming himself, but Giannis has looked like the best player in the tournament so far. Luka had a great 36-point outing against Germany to help Slovenia win, but Giannis had a 41-point game earlier in the day.
Jokic has the best overall team around him, so he hasn’t had to put up the numbers that Luka and Giannis have. Similarly, the Slovenian team is better than the Greek team, so even Luka understands the amount of pressure on Giannis. Doncic’s new Dallas Mavericks teammate Tyler Dorsey is the second-best player for Greece but doesn’t even have a veteran contract in the NBA, currently signed to a two-way contract.