Luka Dončić is blossoming into a superstar

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while a young NBA player dominates the sport of basketball and performs at such a high level that they become one of the best players in the league within the first couple years of their career. Think LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

This is extremely rare and it's why players like Jordan and LeBron were considered potential all-time greats very early in their career. Right now we are seeing another once in a generation player blossom right before our eyes: Luka Dončić.

If for some reason you don't know who Luka is, he plays for the Dallas Mavericks and was drafted in 2018 by the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to Dallas on draft night in the infamous Trae Young trade. As a Hawks fan, I’m just trying to smile through the pain.

Before being selected 3rd overall in the 2018 draft, Luka made a name for himself overseas when he averaged 16/4/5 on his way to winning the EuroLeague championship and EuroLeague MVP. At just 18 years old, he was the youngest player to ever win the EuroLeague MVP award.

For context, players that young usually have a very small role and come off the bench in the Euroleague. Luka, on the other hand, played 26 minutes per game and was the primary initiator for Real Madrid (one of the best teams in the world). He was already outlier good as an 18-year-old.

Luka's dominance didn't stop in Europe and he was amazing the minute he stepped on an NBA court. As a rookie, he averaged 21/6/8 on 43/33/71 shooting splits, won the rookie of the year award, and barely missed out on being named an all-star in his first season. His efficiency wasn't great, but he was still really good for being a rookie.

This year he didn't just get better. Instead, he took a massive leap and became a superstar. He averaged 29/9/9 on 59% TS% (46/32/76 shooting splits) and lead the Mavericks to the 7th seed in the western conference. Obviously the statistical leap is great but when you consider that his usage rate increased from 31% to 37% it becomes even more impressive.

Luka is an elite offensive player who has quickly emerged as one of the best scorers and playmakers in the entire league. Prior to joining the NBA, many experts compared him to James Harden because of his shot-making prowess. It's safe to say that comparison has aged quite well.

The rarest and most difficult skill to develop in basketball is the ability to create your own shot off the dribble. Players who can create their own shot and impact winning as a primary scoring option are a rare breed, but Luka has shown that he can be this type of player.

For years, the biggest criticism of Luka's game has been his athleticism or lack thereof. It's true that Luka isn't a great athlete. He isn't lightning quick and he doesn't have a 40 inch vertical, but he makes up for it by having excellent footwork and body control.

The addition of the James Harden step back to his bag has taken Luka to new heights as a scorer. The step back may look like a simple move, but it takes a ton of confidence to pull it off especially from this distance. Luka is almost at the hash mark when he shoots the ball, which is flat out ridiculous.

Luka's body control is especially apparent when he attacks the basket. Since he doesn't have a quick first step or any kind of burst, he must be incredibly meticulous in the way he changes his pace to gain leverage and create opportunities to score.

The Mavericks tried to run a high pick and roll with Boban Marjanović, but Austin Rivers doesn't give them a chance and attacks Luka to disrupt the play. When Rivers reaches for the ball, Luka uses his left forearm to push him off and create separation. Yes, this is technically an offensive foul, but it wasn't egregious enough to grab a referee's attention.

Once he gets the separation he wants, Luka speeds up, looking to attack the basket. At first P.J Tucker loses his balance, but he recovers and does a good job sliding his feet and staying with Luka the whole time. Once Luka slows down to attempt a shot, Tucker jumps to contest it, but Luka comes to a near stop and hangs in the air until Tucker is back on the ground before he attempts the floater.

Luka's ability to change speed and change direction on a dime are rare and his feel for the game and his understanding of angles is unbelievable especially considering his age. Although he isn't a great athlete, he's still an elite scorer because he is unbelievably skilled and knows how to manipulate defenses to his advantage.

The shot creation and scoring output from Luka is undeniably impressive, but his best quality may just be his playmaking. This season, he averaged 8.8 assists per game (up from 6 per game last season) with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.05 and an assist rate of 45.7%. Those numbers are mindblowing, but the way he racks up those assists is even more spectacular.

This pass is extraordinary. Luka has to adjust his body and throw an accurate pass while hanging in the air and being double teamed by the defensive player of the year and Wesley Matthews. You don't see this kind of court vision very often.

One of Luka's best qualities as a passer is his ability to make cross-court passes. It's extremely difficult to make a pass across the court, especially when you're actively moving and have to make the pass off a live dribble.

The Mavericks set a double screen at the top of the key for Luka, and the Kings trap him on the second screen. This leaves Dwight Powell wide open on the roll, so Luka can hit him with a pocket pass for a wide-open mid-range jumper or a drive to the basket. However, Buddy Hield rotates from the opposite corner to make sure Powell doesn't get an open look at the basket. Once Hield leaves the corner, Luka makes a one-hand overhead pass to Dorian Finney-Smith in the corner for a wide-open three.

The patience and court vision that Luka exhibits as a playmaker are absolutely wonderful. These kinds of passes are why I believe Luka is already one of the best passers in the NBA.

The scary thing about Luka is that he still has room to improve. Although he is a phenomenal scorer, he only shot 32% from three on 9 attempts per game this year. Of course, that's a high volume of threes and a lot of those attempts came off the dribble. Luka is the lead ball-handler and the number one scoring option for the Mavericks, so he has to take a ton of difficult shots.

Just imagine if Luka becomes a 35% three-point shooter with that same volume. That would put him in the same tier as James Harden in terms of three-point shooting. Even if he doesn't improve his three-point efficiency, he'll be an amazing player. If he does though, he'll become the best player in the world, probably sooner than later.

His rapid development up to this point has been fun to watch and his impact at his age is unprecedented. The skill he showcases on a nightly basis as both a scorer and a passer is incredible and the fact that he just won two games vs. the Clippers with Kristaps Porzingis missing time with injury has me sold that he's an elite player. At this point, we just need to accept that he's a superstar.

You can expect to see people like Stephen A. Smith and Colin Cowherd go on national television in the next few months and claim that Luka is the next big star in the NBA. I would have to respectfully disagree. He isn't just the future of the NBA, in fact, he's already arrived. This is Luka's world and we're just living in it.