While LeBron James is approaching at great speed the title of all-time leading scorer, the King is already talking regarding those who might beat him. Kevin Durant in particular, or even Luka Doncic. But the Slovenian immediately replied that it would not be possible…
In the controversial victory for his Mavericks in double overtime on the Lakers floor (119-115), Luka Doncic still released a big performance (35 points, 14 rebounds, 13 caviars). Enough to fuel the debate on the succession of LeBron James in the ranking of the most prolific scorers in history.
But following the Dallas win, Luka Magic immediately told Tim MacMahon toESPN that it was not possible for him to break this record. Why ?
“If you think of my name, there’s no way. Because I don’t intend to play as much. I don’t think I’ll play for 20 years, that’s a long time from a basketball point of view. I think I prefer to go back to my farm in Slovenia. Apart from the only qualities of a basketball player, it is very difficult to take care of your body over time.
While longevity and physical fitness are essential to staying at a high level in the Big League, Luka’s huge performances since entering the NBA make him a huge scorer. But probably not enough to hope one day to dethrone LBJ, even if Doncic is now leading the League with 34 points per game.
In effect, the Kid from Akron, who entered the League at 18 (a year earlier than Doncic) is ahead in scoring at the same age as the Slovenian. At 23, LeBron had 11,514 points, compared to Luka’s 8,263. On a physical level, Doncic also lags far behind his counterpart. James has only missed 71 games in total in his first 15 years, while Doncic has already missed 51 games in his four and a half seasons. In terms of speed, however, Doncic does better than his idol. It is 8,263 in 302 games, compared to 8,069 for the King following the same number of games. But this is one of the only stats where the Slovenian dominates LeBron.
However, few players have been more effective than Doncic at the same age. The Slovenian recently became the sixth-youngest player to reach the 8,000-point mark, a list led by… LeBron.
MVP candidate this season, Luka Doncic does not think he can last as long on the court as the King. But anyway, that was not his goal.
Source texte : ESPN, Basketball Reference
