Mavs' Luka Dončić Is Playing Like LeBron James in Second NBA Season

The last time he took the court for the Dallas Mavericks, second-year player Luka Dončić went off for 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in 142-94 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Dončić did all his damage in just 25 minutes and 30 seconds, the least playing time in NBA history a player has needed to produce a 30-point triple-double, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

35pts 10rebs 11asts in only 25 MINUTES 🤯

Doncic & the Mavs breeze past the Warriors 142-94!#MFFL #LukaDoncic pic.twitter.com/dqlXlU9f9T

— Redshirt Heisman (@TasteOfSport) November 21, 2019

Thanks to performances like that, the reigning rookie of the year is one of two players in the NBA averaging at least 25 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game this season. The other? LeBron James.

At 20 years old, Dončić is averaging close to a triple-double (29.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 9.4 assists) to go along with nearly 1.5 steals per game, numbers which no one in NBA history has put up for an entire season at his age.

Though the Slovenian star is only 14 games into his season, it appears Dončić is well on the way to having the best age-20 season since James tore up the league at that age.

“Declaring that Dončić will follow James’s path and dominate the league for a decade and a half is foolish,” writes FiveThirtyEight. “Pretty much nobody has ever done what LeBron has done. That’s what makes him one of the all-time greats. But pretty much nobody has ever done what Dončić is doing, either. So perhaps he’s on his way.”

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”