NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2019-20

Many players on this list are young, firmly on the upswing of their careers with the best yet to come. None are as young as Luka Doncic, who came in as a uniquely heralded player with professional experience in Europe. The 20-year-old from Slovenia showed throughout his rookie season that he is a special offensive player, and in year two should only build on that foundation.

Doncic put up 21.2 points per game to go along with 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. He became the 12th player to hit those marks and just the second rookie after Oscar Robertson set an impossible bar as a rookie in 1961. His ball handling and playmaking at his size (6’7″) allow him to influence the game in unique ways, as does his fearlessness and willingness to unload from deep.

He is a perfect fit for the modern game.

What Doncic is also doing is blowing apart the stereotypes about European wings. Just as the last Dallas Mavericks‘ superstar showed that a European big man could be elite, Doncic is showing that a European wing can be one of the best offensive players in the league. In just one season he established himself as a budding star; how high can he rise this season?

Looking ahead: The Dallas Mavericks have a second star in Kristaps Porzingis, who has already shown himself to be a perfect fit for the modern game, with high-level rim protection combined with a jumper that would make Dirk Nowitzki proud.

If Doncic settles in as a second-year player rather than taking a leap forward then a healthy and locked-in Porzingis could challenge him for this spot in a year.