Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II was asked about who has a deeper bag between Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by former NBA player Theo Pinson at the Nike EYBL, with Lively saying the Mavs second-round Playoff win over the Thunder proves his teammate Doncic is ahead of Shai.
“Who won that matchup?”
Theo Pinson: "Who has a deeper bag? Luka or Shai?"
Dereck Lively II: "Who won that matchup?"
(Via Nike EYBL on YouTube) pic.twitter.com/3CRk5Lsztc
— Panda Hank (@pandahank41) August 25, 2024
Relying on the matchup to pick who has the deeper bag or is better between the two might not be the best exercise. While the Mavericks did win the series in six games, Doncic struggled mightily while playing through various injuries in that series. He averaged 24.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.7 assists, unable to find his scoring touch but continuing to dominate the game as the team’s primary playmaker, making him indispensable even as he struggled to score.
Shai was a dominant force on the losing Thunder, averaging 32.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. In terms of pure production, there’s no question that Shai outplayed Luka in that series, but his lack of offensive creativity as a guard meant he couldn’t elevate his teammates like Doncic did, particularly with P.J. Washington in that series.
Luka’s overall production in the regular season outshines Shai, as Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists on the 50-32 Mavericks who overcame a slow start to the season to end the season as one of the best teams in the NBA. Shai led the Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the West with a 57-25 record, averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists.
Shai finished second in MVP voting while Luka finished third, which indicates that Shai might be presumed to be slightly ahead of Doncic right now. However, the NBA Playoffs saw Doncic lead a weaker Mavs roster to the NBA Finals while being injured and reducing his scoring output.
Outside moments of poor defensive effort, Luka has laid a solid claim to being the best guard in the NBA right now, although Shai is within reach of taking that crown from him.
Luka Doncic And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Are Expected To Get Record-Setting Contracts
The 2018 NBA Draft Class has been regarded as one of the best in the modern era for the last few seasons, with Doncic and Shai the two best players from that class. They’re going to be signing their new supermax contracts soon after having been named All-NBA First Team for the last two seasons (five for Doncic).
In the summer of 2025, Doncic and Shai will be eligible to sign contracts worth $346 million with their home organizations. These deals are incredible in their scale and might not be offered to anyone else from their stacked Draft class. Jaren Jackson Jr. is a former DPOY but won’t get this deal while Trae Young will have to find a way back to the All-NBA team to even be eligible for a deal like this.
Jalen Brunson has already signed his long-term extension on a discount deal with the Knicks despite being eligible for a $269 million contract next summer. This likely will lead to fellow 2018 Draft Classmates and current Knicks teammates Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo to follow suit, so Luka and Shai will soon have the biggest contracts of this bunch.
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