Luka Doncic is on a seemingly special run to start the new NBA season. He is averaging 38.3 points on 49.7% field-goal shooting and 42.7% 3-point shooting, eight rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.9 steals a game, and he looks even better than he did last season when he finished fourth in the MVP balloting.
On Monday, he went for 42 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and two steals in a 138-117 win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat. Antetokounmpo didn’t do too badly himself with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, but he was clearly outplayed by Doncic.
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He couldn’t help but admit afterward that Doncic is in some rarefied air when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best scorers to play this game, if not the best,” Antetokounmpo said.
A reporter quickly asked Antetokounmpo, “Right now?” to which the two-time MVP clarified his stance.
“Not right now,” Antetokounmpo replied. “Not right now. Of all time. I feel like some people are scared to say that, but he’s got to be up there.”
Doncic is scoring with incredible ease, and it seems like the only way to stop him is to trap him and either make him give up the ball or force him into a turnover. While he had a combined 17 turnovers in his first two games this season, he has settled down in the turnover department since.
He is hitting contested treys on a consistent basis, and he’s seemingly making it look easy. He has also improved his free-throw shooting by making 88.7% of his free-throw attempts, compared to 78% last season and 75.7% for his career. The Slovenian is leading the NBA in free throw attempts and makes, as well as 3-point attempts, 3-point makes, overall field-goal attempts, field-goal makes and, of course, scoring average.
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Monday’s win gave the Lakers a 6-2 record, and while they have some issues, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their prospects this season, and not all those reasons have to do with Doncic. But at age 27, he could have several years of this type of play left in his body.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: Giannis Antetokounmpo: Luka Doncic is one of best scorers of all time
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