Superstar comparisons for the NBA's young guns: Part 2

The NBA is getting better viewership numbers than ever. This is despite the fact that the Warriors have dominated the league for 4 seasons now, and are well on course to a 3rd straight title judging by the superstar addition they made in the offseason in the form of DeMarcus Cousins.

What has, however, improved viewership across the globe is the increased reach of the sport since the Jordan days, in addition to the increased level of talent across the league - the main reason for why you are likely to find a Celtics fan, a Jazz fan and a Thunder fan arguing over which team has the best chance of beating Golden State in Kazakhstan.

The newest additions to the league in the form of the NBA draft in the past couple of seasons have provided plenty of reasons for fans of the league to have an optimistic view about the future of the league. What will follow now is an attempt to compare the stellar players from the last 2 draft classes to established basketball superstars and Hall of Famers:

#1 Lonzo Ball - Jason Kidd

Since this is an oft-debated comparison that some people don't really see as valid, let me first clear historical context for why it's made so often.

In Kidd's rookie year, he had averages of 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.3 blocks. Lonzo's statline reads 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. Kidd shot 27.2% from downtown and 38.5% overall. Lonzo shot 30.5% from downtown and 36% overall.

Like Kidd, Lonzo projected among his team's best defenders right off the bat. Like Kidd, Lonzo can guard multiple positions effectively, and pretty much like the Nets and Mavericks legend, Lonzo is adept at playing passing lanes and providing help defense - some might even say he offers some light rim protection.

Lonzo's feel for the game is reminiscent of Kidd, and overall, there isn't a better player comparison for him at the moment.

#2 Brandon Ingram - Kevin Durant

Ever since being recruited to Duke and starring for the Blue Devils in his solitary season as a college player, Ingram's height, physique and playing style have had people constantly comparing him to Kevin Durant, 2-time reigning Finals MVP and a 9-time All-Star who has the potential to be remembered as one of the 10 greatest players ever to play the game.

Of course, shouldering the sophomore with such a burden of expectations this early in their careers was way off the mark, as Ingram was only 18 years old when he began his rookie NBA season and looked like the worst player in the league. As the season went by, however, he began to pick up his act, and he has constantly been improving since then.

Things have now reached a point when Ingram is legitimately in the conversation as perhaps the most talented young forward in the league today - on par with Tatum and Simmons. Ingram has already flashed an extremely well-developed scoring game and was an able point guard for the Lakers during the period that they missed Lonzo due to injury last season.

It will take a lot of long strides, but Ingram is on the right track to follow in the footsteps of one of the all-time greats when all is said and done.

#3 Jamal Murray - Damian Lillard

It is difficult to watch Jamal Murray and restrict a player comparison for him to just a single player, for he has a lot of great strengths and has modeled different aspects of his game on attributes picked from a lot of great players.

With his combination of slick handles, shooting prowess, pick-and-roll facilitation and athleticism, however, the most valid comparison would definitely be with Lillard, who was an All-NBA First Teamer for the first time in his career during the 2017-18 season.

While Murray has yet to become the kind of volume scorer Lillard is, he is a really good off-ball player and an excellent spot-up shooter who gets fewer touches since his starting lineup also comprises of offensive talents like Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap.

Murray improved a great deal in his sophomore year from a rather lackluster rookie campaign during which he played as the backup to Emmanuel Mudiay, who has since been traded to the New York Knicks. By the time he reaches the age of 22 next year, he will be the same age as Lillard when the latter was a rookie, and projects to become as effective as him based on what we've seen in the past season.

#4 DeAndre Ayton - Patrick Ewing

It might seem sacrilegious to associate a rookie center not known for his defense to one of the great defensive anchors of all time in Ewing, but allow me to expand on why.

For starters, just take one look at the two men. The physical similarities are too eery to miss out on. Ayton, like Ewing, is a Greek God, a physical specimen the likes of which does not come along often. If either of the pairs were just rim-running bigs in the manner of DeAndre Jordan, they'd still be regarded as some of the best centers in today's league.

But Ayton is far more than just a physical specimen. His polished technique in the low post, textbook spin moves and turnaround jumpers, mid-range game and finesse while finishing through traffic are quite advanced for a 19-year-old rookie.

He was placed among one of the worse defensive teams in college, which is why his defense was not allowed to flower as it could've. The jump to the NBA is going to be that much tougher, but Ayton's excellent physical tools are a pretty good starting sign that he will eventually figure it out on that end.

#5 Luka Doncic - Manu Ginobili

Of all the great swingmen to come out of Europe (spoiler alert: there aren't many) to the NBA, none of them have the kind of skillset, accolades or hype that Luka Doncic has dealt with for the past year or so and still showed off.

As one of the centerpieces of a Real Madrid side that won the Liga Endesa as well as the Euroleague championship, Doncic was named the Final Four MVP and the overall tournament MVP at the age of just 19.

When you look at Doncic's overall game, his feel for finding the right passing angles, timing and vision stand out like few other prospects have. Not only is Doncic a great pick-and-roll playmaker, he has the handles, the size and the shooting ability to make the game easier for players around him. While not the quickest or the most athletic, it is clear that his relatively inferior athleticism hasn't affected his effectiveness in the second best league in the world.

Manu, a former Euroleague winner and MVP, is the one veteran whose overall game seems to be closest to Doncic's, though he was a freak athlete at his prime with tearaway speed. Doncic was acquired by the Mavs in a draft-day trade from the Hawks, uniting him with Dirk Nowitzki, the greatest European basketballer of all time. Hopefully, the mentoring will rub off on him and allow him to be a difference-maker right away.