The 23-year-old Luka Doncic has already risen amongst the ranks as one of the top players in the entire league with the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic can do it all. Drop 30+ points on any given night? Check. Create wide-open looks for his teammates all game long? Check. Lead the league’s guards in rebounds? Check. Be trusted to hit a game-winning shot from nearly anywhere on the court? Check.
A quick look at any Doncic highlight reel shows how versatile he is. At 23, there are still a few things he can work on to improve, but that’s a given for any young player. Right now, however, he’s a superstar way ahead of schedule. There’s no doubt that Doncic can emerge as the top player in the league as quickly as next season.
Top NBA Players 2022-23: #4 Luka Doncic
Insane Stats
Doncic showed all the promise in the world as a rookie in the 2018-19 season. He averaged about 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists per game. That was nearly good enough to become an All-Star.
Then he exploded his sophomore season. Doncic averaged about 29 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists per game.
He’s averaged around those same numbers ever since.
Last season, Doncic took the Mavericks all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they eventually fell short to the Golden State Warriors (who, of course, went on to win the NBA Championship).
Dallas exceeded expectations, and of course, it came under the stellar play of Doncic. He missed time in the first round versus the Utah Jazz but sealed the series upon his return. Then, in the semi-finals versus the Phoenix Suns, Doncic completely took over and outplayed both Chris Paul and Devin Booker. The Warriors proved to be too much, which isn’t surprising with their star-studded team, but Doncic played exceptional basketball and was able to secure two wins in the series.
Last year’s run was Doncic’s best to date but more will surely be coming.
Luka Doncic 2022-23 Expectations
It would be easy to say Doncic will continue his streak of averaging a stat line of about 29-9-9 as he’s shown no signs of slowing down. There’s a very real chance, however, that Doncic can be even better.
The Mavericks lost guard Jalen Brunson this offseason as he signed with the New York Knicks. Brunson was a strong secondary scorer as well as a facilitator. With him gone, more rests on the shoulders of Doncic.
Dallas has two great shooters in their starting lineup in Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith. Doncic will feed them. He has a new lob threat in JaVale McGee as well. Christian Wood is another new addition who will add to the offense. Having a scoring big man will be great for Doncic’s assist numbers.
The only other reliable ball handler/facilitator for the Mavericks is Spencer Dinwiddie. He’ll likely come off the bench, but also play with Doncic in spurts. This means Doncic will carry the heavy load of facilitating duties.
Of course, Doncic is a lights-out scorer. That will continue, and he can be even better if he improves his three-point and free-throw shooting.
Doncic can average 30 points per game and double-digit assists while pushing the Mavericks toward another strong playoff run.
