Is Luka Doncic the Best Player Right Now: Current Stats, Achievements, and More

Born on February 28, 1999, Luka Doncic is a professional basketball player who represents the Slovenian national team and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. Doncic has put up historic numbers through the first two NBA seasons, producing one of the best starts to a career the league has ever seen. He turned just 21 years old and finished with the second highest scoring average (24.2 ppg) by a player before his 21st birthday in league history (LeBron James, 25.0 ppg).

Doncic was originally selected by Atlanta with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, before having his draft rights traded to Dallas in exchange for the draft rights to the fifth overall pick Trae Young, and a future first-round selection. Even though Doncic’s career stats are astonishing today in this article we will answer the question, is Luka Doncic the best player right now?

Luka Doncic’s Current Season Performance

Luka holds career averages of 24.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 32.8 minutes per game in 133 games (all starts) with the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic also produced 21 of his franchise-record 25 triple-doubles before his 21st birthday on 28 Feb 2020, by far the most by a player before turning 21 in league history. After an outstanding Rookie season that saw him earn Kia Rookie of the Year honors in 2018-19, Doncic garnered All-NBA First Team accolades as a 21-year-old in 2019-20. He became the first player to earn All-NBA First Team honors in either his first or second season since Tim Duncan in 1998-99. He also became the sixth player in league history to be named All-NBA First Team at age 21 or younger (James, Max Zaslofsky, Kevin Durant, Duncan, Rick Barry). Doncic joined the great Dirk Nowitzki (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2008-09) as the only Mavericks to be tabbed All-NBA First Team.

The NBA player Luka Doncic is having a phenomenal season. In the latest match, Doncic scored a triple-double against his former team, the Dallas Mavericks. This game was Doncic’s first against the Dallas Mavericks since being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Slovenian superstar recorded his first triple-double as a Laker in a 107-99 win against his old team, he finished with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and two blocks. LeBron James and Austin Reaves weren’t shabby either, each recording at least 20 points, but it was Doncic’s night, as so many anticipated from a player reported to be furious about getting traded in the dead of night.

This season, Doncic has been averaging impressive numbers, his performance against the Mavericks is a testament to his incredible skill and adaptability on the court. Here is the breakdown of his regular season stats:

These Stats are taken from ESPN –

Stats	Regular Season (2024-25)	Career
GP	26	426
MIN	34.4	34.8
FG%	45.4	46.9
3P%	34.3	34.7
FT%	76.5	74.8
REB	8.2	8.7
AST	7.5	8.2
BLK	0.4	0.5
STL	1.9	1.2
PF	2.7	2.3
TO	3.4	4.0
PTS	26.7	28.6

How Luka Compares to Other NBA Superstars

Luka Doncic is considered one of the most dominant players in the NBA, and his comparisons to other superstars are often debated. Here’s a brief analysis:

Scoring

Luka Doncic’s scoring average is currently better than other star players like LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Doncic averages around 32-33 points per game comparable to Kevin Durant who averages around 29-30 points per game and Joel Embiid averages around 33-34 points per game. LeBron James averages around 24-25 points per game and Giannis Antetokounmpo averaging around 29-30 points per game is also in the same scoring range.

Playmaking

Luka Doncic is currently better at his playmaking abilities than any other player as he is averaging around 8-9 assists per game, comparable to LeBron James averaging around 7-8 assists per game. In a comparison with James Harden who is averaging around 7-8 assists per game, Doncic still stands at the top. Stephen Curry averaging around 6-7 assists per game, and Damian Lillard averaging around 7-8 assists per game are also excellent playmakers but in comparison, Luka has the upper hand.

Rebounding

In Rebounding, Luka Doncic (averaging around 8-9 rebounds per game) is comparable to Giannis Antetokounmpo (averaging around 11-12 rebounds per game) and Joel Embiid (averaging around 10-11 rebounds per game). LeBron James (averaging around 7-8 rebounds per game) and Kevin Durant (averaging around 6-7 rebounds per game) are also strong rebounders.

Luka Doncic’s overall impact on the game is comparable to that of LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid. He dominates the game in multiple facets, making him a top MVP candidate.

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Why Luka Might Not Be the Best Yet

Even though Luka Doncic is one of the NBA greats, not everything about Doncic’s defense is damaging. But if something is holding him back from being the greatest of the league, it’s mainly his work on that end of the court. In the regular season, he was in the 74th percentile in steal rate – using his mind to read passing lanes and create high-value turnovers. Doncic, at 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, is also much bigger than other high-usage ball handlers (such as Brunson or point guards Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers). This advantage gives him more juice as a tertiary rim protection threat (39th percentile block rate). That’s a massive advantage for someone who is supposed to be his team’s worst defender on the floor in most situations.

Also, since the NBA’s recent decision to allow for more physicality on defense, Doncic has been leveraging his burly build on that end of the court. Even with these strengths, Doncic is oftentimes a moving target on that end of the court. He struggles to move laterally and gets through screens, and, from time to time, loses his focus to allow his offensive player to slip by him when he’s defending off-ball. Look at all these great shots that are a direct byproduct of Doncic breakdowns:

Some of this is a symptom of fatigue from Doncic’s massive offensive burden, some are the cost of the long list of injuries he’s had to play through this postseason – right knee sprain, left ankle soreness, back soreness and left Achilles soreness – but most of it is just his shortcomings as a defender. The case for the league’s best player has often been definitive, whether it be Michael Jordan, LeBron James, or others among the greatest players in NBA history.

Conclusion

Regardless of Doncic’s defensive limitations, his impact in the NBA is unmatched. For instance, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the NBA MVP this season for a third time, offers similar offensive production to Doncic (he’s not as ball-dominant, but he’s a lot more versatile) while also providing more flexibility on defense. His great hands, size, and mobility (relative to his size) give him a D-DRIP of 2.0 (much higher than Doncic’s D-DRIP). This also gives the Nuggets the luxury of playing weaker defenders (like Jamal Murray) next to Jokic without tanking their defense (remember, a big reason why they won last year’s NBA championship was their defense).

One could probably suggest that Doncic is better than Jokic, Embiid, and whoever else you want to include in the conversation. The point in all of this is that the Dallas Mavericks run to the 2024 NBA Finals has given Doncic a seat at an exclusive table where only the candidates for the league’s best player reside. So in conclusion Luka Doncic might be one of the best currently playing in the NBA league.

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