How does Luka Doncic compare to Michael Jordan and LeBron James at this stage in their careers?

Aug 19

Luka Doncic just wrapped up his rookie contract and fourth NBA season, and boy, has it been a spectacular start.

Rookie of the Year. All-Star starter. All-NBA First Team. A Conference Finals appearance. Incredible statistics. Doncic is already too good to be compared to his young peers and even all but the top four or five players in the league right now. So let's jump the gun and see how he stacks up to the two greatest players in the history of the NBA, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.

Compared to James, Doncic has a similar points-per-game average at this stage of their careers, 26.7 to 26.4. But he's averaged eight assists through four seasons while James averaged only 6.5 at the same point in his career. In rebounding, Doncic again takes the lead with 8.5 to Brons 6.7.

Against Jordan, Doncic did not fare so well in the scoring column. In his first four seasons, MJ averaged a shade under 31 a game, leading Doncic by about four and a half. However, Doncic averaged over three assists more than MJ's 4.8. Rebounding was similar as Luka easily outpaced Michael's 5.2 rebounds a game by grabbing 3.3 more. So it's hard to say either guy had better stats than Luka.

Doncic passes the eye test when watching him play as he drags his teams to wins, as I've only seen James do. His feel for the game is almost as perfect as it could be, and he makes everyone around him significantly better. Having him guarantees you a top-10 offense, and his 2019-20 Mavs team even set the record for the most efficient offense ever. He took the Mavs to the Conference Finals, where they lost against the eventual champions before his rookie deal was over.

Doncic also cemented his hold on the highest points average in closeout games in NBA history with an incredible 38.3 after he smacked the Suns in a game that was over by halftime with a 57-27 lead. A blowout, unlike anything I've ever seen in a closeout game.

It's hard to say anyone will ever be as good as James or Jordan, but Doncic is the first guy I've ever seen who makes me wonder. Of course, we don't know if he'll be this good his whole career. He'll have to win many championships to pass these guys, but at this point in his career, he's probably already a top-100 NBA player of all time.

Every year he continues like this will vault him up about 10 spots. At 34, if he has kept this up, it will be hard to argue he's not as good or better than anyone.