From passing, scoring, and dominating the game, Luka mirrors the GOAT point guard according to Monty Williams.
Following his Detroit Pistons’ Friday win over the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Monty Williams dropped a lofty praise about Luka Doncic. For him, the Slovenian star’s ongoing brilliance reminds him of what the legendary Magic Johnson has demonstrated throughout his illustrious career.
“He’s always been able to score the ball, but the passing is just phenomenal. And the pass is always on target. You try your best to put big guys in the space to compliment your pick-and-roll coverage. You run different defenses at him, you’re just hoping that he messes up because he’s just that good,” Monty said. “I just think he’s that unique… He reminds me of Magic in that way. Those guys are big and have great vision. Playing at their own pace, understood everybody around them. I’m not into the comparison thing, but when you think of big guards who dominated like that, that’s probably one of the reasons I didn’t get a lot of sleep when I was in the West going up against that dude a lot.”
Luka Magic
Throwing a Magic Johnson comparison shouldn’t mean offense for the Los Angeles Lakers icon, who stands as one of the best players to play. For being the greatest point guard, no one in NBA history can outmatch Magic’s way of completely controlling the game with his passing, facilitating, and ability to set up plays for his teammates. Using his generational talent, he served as the driving force in the Showtime Lakers’ dynasty status that secured five championships throughout the ’80s.
But considering what he is doing right now individually and for the Mavericks’ success, it’s only fair enough for Luka to get at least honorably compared to Magic. While their gap is still significant, Doncic seems to be on the right path. This 2023-24 is another strong year for Luka Magic as he is averaging career highs in points (33.9), assists (9.8), rebounds (9.2), and three-point shooting (38.2%). He is in the midst of the best season of his career thus far and is poised to lead Dallas to the NBA title.
As it is, Williams was not the only one who gave Luka such massive props recently. Another basketball figure in the form of Stan Van Gundy gave his flowers to the Dallas sensation. In the eyes of SVG, Doncic is the greatest offensive player he has ever seen — even greater than Michael Jordan.
“The best offensive player now that I have ever seen is Luka Doncic,” Van Gundy said. “I just don’t think there’s anything the guy can’t do offensively. He’s absolutely huge first of all, he’s 6-foot-8 and big. He shoots the ball from deep. … He’s become a more consistent shooter from range. His range is incredible and he’s been very efficient shooting the ball, he can drive the perimeter, he can score in the post and he’s one of the best passers we have ever had in the league. There is literally no one who can match up with him and when you bring a second defender, he can pick you apart.”
The intriguing thing about Luka is that he can only get better as his ceiling remains limitless at age 25. Who knows what might unfold for the next several years, but Doncic is indeed on his way to ultimate greatness.
