Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić has come under scrutiny by Skip Bayless as he believes Doncic is not a superstar-caliber player in the NBA.
On Fox Sports' "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Bayless spoke about his reservations about Dončić after his poor performance in Game 1. The Mavs lost 112-87 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals on Wednesday. Bayless said:
"It's going to come down to: is Luka that dude? I'm asking. Is he really that guy, has he arrived as a superstar? I saw Golden State come out and actually pay him too much respect in the first half. In the second half, he (Andrew Wiggins) starts picking up Luka full court, and he just sort of runs Luka into the ground.
"In the second half, Andrew Wiggins made 'Baby Bird' look like 'Baby Hummingbird' to me. He made one shot in the second half. That's not a superstar performance right there, and it's because Andrew Wiggins said, 'I got this.' He mirrored him. He got physical with him."
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Dončić had a poor night as he scored a playoff-low 20 points (11.5 points below his playoff average entering the game), along with seven rebounds and four assists. He shot 33.3%, including 30.0% from beyond the arc. More importantly, the Slovenian leaked seven turnovers.
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Is Skip Bayless right about Luka Dončić?
Luka Dončić has been compared to LeBron James, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson this season – a testament to the greatness of the Slovenian.
The Dallas Mavericks star was not in the MVP conversation as household names like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo were finalists in the race.
Dončić went under the radar despite a surge from the Mavericks towards the end of the regular season. Dončić had six games with 40 or more points and 13 games with 35 or more during the regular season. He also had 13 games with 12 or more assists.
The only issue for Dončić seems to be health. He has constantly struggled with weight and ankle issues throughout his career. This is probably the only reason why he wasn’t in the MVP conversation this year.
Dončić is not surrounded by a single All-Star and is still in the Western Conference finals. Given the way he has performed thus far in his four-year career, comparisons to Bird, Magic and King James are warranted.
Despite what Skip Bayless said about his poor performance in Game 1, Dončić is a superstar. He has carried the Mavericks and put in performances this season that would make Bird, Johnson and James proud.
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