There’s never a scarcity of young, talented, and high-potential superstars in the NBA, and leading that list today are Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Ja Morant, and Zion Williamson – arguably four of the league’s brightest young stars from the last two rookie classes.
To have a feel on who among the four is the eye candy of the NBA world, ESPN conducted a survey between 20 different members of teams everywhere, which included coaches, scouts, general managers, and team executives.
Here’s how the voting went down:
Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
Luka Doncic | 17 | 3 | – | – | 77 |
Zion Williamson | 1 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 52 |
Ja Morant | 2 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 47 |
Trae Young | – | – | 4 | 16 | 24 |
The Dallas Mavericks’ second-year All-Star swingman Luka Doncic ran past everyone in the votes, and rightfully so. He’s dropping all-around numbers left and right ever since he stepped foot in the league, and prior to the suspension of games this season, he was leading the league in triple-doubles, with 13. The Slovenian is averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on the year while leading the Mavs to a respectable, playoff-bound 40-27 record.
An executive from the Western Conference had this to say about Luka:
“Luka has size and elite playmaking and shooting right this second … He impacts winning. I believe his game is not only sustainable, but has the ability to continue to get better.”
A scout in the Eastern Conference also had high praise:
“Luka is a known quantity as a total stud … you have to take the sure thing.”
No one’s exactly overlooking the three other studs, though. Morant, for one, who’s the consensus frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year plum this season, got some fair share of love from the voters.
One of the scouts in the panel even believes that Morant could be better than Luka soon.
“I see his upside … He’s going to get stronger … His upside is his athleticism. Doncic may be as good as he ever is because he’s limited athletically. For today, I’d say Luka, but moving forward, I say Ja because his athleticism is off the charts, his makeup is great and his shooting will get better.”
A different voter, this time a team executive in the East, mirrored that statement. He argues that Luka has already peaked:
“I don’t know if Luka can be any better than he is .. He’s really good, but I think this might be who he is — which is very good … Ja can get better in terms of his shooting, his team will get better around him and he makes players better around him. I think he can affect the game at both ends.”
Like Luka, Ja is boasting a great campaign. The impressive rookie has put up 17.6 points and 6.9 assists per game, and leads his class on total points and assists. He’s also a main driving force behind the Memphis Grizzlies’ potential return to the postseason.
The most explosive in the group, Zion Williamson, is also not forgotten. The lone voter that gave a first-place vote for the New Orleans Pelicans rookie is as pumped as the rest of the fans, and he’s an opposing coach:
“His talent is off the charts … He has potential to impact the game with or without the ball, and on both ends … By year 3, if he progresses the way he should and is taught correctly, he will be pretty spectacular.”
Another opposing coach also threw in his big hope for Zion in the future, as he believes the 19-year-old can be a future MVP in the league:
“I’m only taking Luka because of health concerns about Zion … If he’s healthy, I think he’ll win an MVP. That’s how good I think he is.”
Zion has missed a boatload of games due to knee injury, but he has more than made up for lost time when he finally got on the court. Though limited in playing time (29.7 MPG), he was able to score 23.6 points on an efficient 58.6% shooting, and has also wowed the crowd with a bevy of rim-rattling dunks.
Don’t worry, Trae Young and Atlanta Hawks fans. Your high-scoring guard gathered admiration too. While he didn’t sway voters into receiving first-place nods, there’s no denying that Trae is in the conversation of being the best scorers in the entire league.
Ice Trae is currently top three in scoring (29.6 PPG) and assists this season (9.3 APG), and he’s also one of just seven players to already have 200 or more threes in 2019-20. In an era where offense is clearly king, his high-volume shooting and overall offensive skillset may allow him to go over Luka, Zion, and Ja anytime.