11/24/19

LUKA DONCIC versus LEBRON JAMES, WHO IS THE SECOND GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL-TIME?

When Lebron James entered the NBA Draft in 2003, he was picked by most to be the "Heir Apparent," the next Michael Jordan.  Labron's rookie season did not disappoint anyone looking to find basketball's "Greatest of All-Time."

Now in his 17th season, Lebron James, like Michael Jordan continues to be the "Best Man on The Court" game after game.  His 4 NBA Titles, with two different teams and 4 NBA MVP Awards are a measure of his greatness.  This year, with Anthony Davis by his side, Lebron has lead the Los Angeles Lakers back to greatness.

As Lebron approaches the age of 35 next month, he still has a few more years of domination left in him.  But can he over-take Michael Jordan as "The Greatest of All-Time?"  Probably not, but second best ain't bad in the minds of NBA fans throughout the world.

Then came Luka Doncic, picked 3rd in the 2018 NBA Draft at the age of 19.  Highly awarded in European play, but how would this young man do against NBA talent?  Just fine, thank you.  Luka was picked NBA Rookie of The Year with stats that look better than even Lebron James' rookie season.

Luka, in his first sixteen games of his second NBA season is performing even better than Lebron James did in his second season.  Can Luka keep his performance level this high for sixty-six more games, and will he continue to improve?  It will be fun to follow Luka the rest of the season.

Below is a comparison of Luka and Lebron in their first two NBA seasons.  Luka's 2nd Year Stats are from the first 16 games of the 2019-20 season.


Rookie  MPG  PPG   RB  ASST   STL  TOV   FG%   3P%
Lebron  39.5    20.9   5.5   5.9      1.6     3.5     .417    .290
Luka      32.2    21.2   7.8   6.0      1.1     3.4     .427    .327

2nd Year
Lebron  42.4    27.2    7.4   7.2     2.2     3.3     .472     .351
Luka      33.9    30.6   10.1  9.8     1.3     4.5     .495     .347

So, who is better, Luka or Lebron?  We will be asking that question for the next 17 years or more.