Luka Doncic: 2018 NBA Draft player profile
By Luke Askew
Weaknesses
Athleticism
I know I just got done ranting about how people are overstating Luka’s lack of athleticism, but he still isn’t nearly as athletic as many NBA Draft prospects and NBA players. When you watch Luka play, he can sometimes seem to lumber around the court, almost like someone wearing shoes that weigh five pounds. However, his athleticism isn’t horrible.
It’s true that you want your 6’8″ wing to be athletic. There’s no secret there. However, let’s not jump to conclusions and assume he’s Doug McDermott. Doncic seems to be somewhere between McDermott and Paul George in terms of athleticism. (Yes, that’s quite a large range. No, I’m not going to change it.)
Like most young players, I expect his athleticism to improve once he’s working with NBA trainers full-time.
Defense
Doncic isn’t a great defender. Most of that can be chalked up to his poor lateral quickness — a result of the aforementioned athleticism. He often gets beaten off the dribble or out-jumped around the rim. That’s a concern when you’re looking at a potential cornerstone of a franchise.
Luka isn’t a lost cause on defense, however. His defensive instincts are actually fairly elite (especially for a 19-year-old). For example, he seems to have a knack for seeing plays miles ahead of other players and he often takes advantage of that skill by jumping the passing lanes for easy steals. But if he get’s isolated by one of the NBA’s elite wings, he’s toast. Maybe some of that will improve as his athleticism improves, but his one-on-one defense is definitely something to be concerned about.