All eyes are on Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian guard just led the Dallas Mavericks to a five-game series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.
Doncic not only was the best player in the series, but he was also so dominant that he has many proclaiming that he is already the best player in the NBA today.
Given what he did in the Western Conference Finals against Minnesota, it is difficult to reason against this.
Doncic averaged 32.4 points on 47.3% field goal shooting, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals over five games, including two triple doubles. Game 2 marked the only game where he scored less than 30 points during the West Finals, but he made up for it as he recorded one of his two triple doubles, finishing with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.
This was also the game where he hit the now-famous game-winning step-back three-pointer over the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert.
During this series, Doncic also reminded the world of his mental toughness and single-mindedness with his performance in Game 5. After losing what should have been the closeout game of the series in Game 4, Doncic came out of the gates firing. He scored 20 points in the first quarter alone as he single-handedly out-scored Minnesota during the opening period.
Dallas led by 16 by the end of the first quarter which set the tone for the rest of the evening as they cruised to a 21-point win that wrapped up the series.
This was not the first time that Doncic did this though and many brought up that he also did this back in 2022 when the Mavericks blew out the Phoenix Suns in Game 7 of their Western Conference Semifinals meeting.
Now, Doncic is about to enter the last bit of uncharted territory in his NBA career: The Finals.
The Mavericks are underdogs in this series where they are set to face the East’s top seed and the owner of the best record in the league this year, the Boston Celtics. However, Doncic is undisputedly the best player in this series and there have been many occasions over the course of history where this proved to be more than enough to tilt the odds in their favor.
If Dallas does win over Boston and Doncic continues playing like he has over the course of this season, it would only further ignite the belief that he is the top basketball player in the world today. It is likely to kickstart discussions on his place on the all-time pantheon as well given that an NBA title is truly the only thing lacking from his resume which is particularly striking given that he is still only 25 years old.
Indeed, Doncic already has five (consecutive) All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Star game nods dating back to his sophomore year. It is probable that these numbers eventually rise to double digits and it would not come as a surprise if he eventually challenges LeBron James for the most All-NBA First Team (13) and NBA All-Star (20) recognitions by the tail end of his career.
Before all of this happens though, Doncic must first hurdle a tough Celtics team in the upcoming NBA Finals. Boston boasts of four starters–Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White–whose defense could theoretically slow him down. This Boston team is the Mavericks’ toughest opponent yet in these playoffs, but knowing Doncic, these types of seemingly insurmountable challenges will only bring out the best in him.
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