Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic receives tremendous praise from NBA stars on Twitter

Luka Doncic had a game for the ages in the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the LA Clippers in Game 4 on Sunday, and NBA stars took note in a big way.

The NBA is blessed with young stars on their way up, but no star is shining brighter in the NBA bubble than Luka Doncic. The Dallas Mavericks‘ 20-year-old sophomore has put his team on his back in the playoffs against the LA Clippers and brought them to a 2-2 tie.

In Game 4 on Sunday, Doncic had a game for the ages. Not just for a star at his young age, but for any player ever. With a final line of 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists, he is the youngest player to ever have a 40-point triple-double in the playoffs, and only Russell Westbrook’s 51-point triple-double made for a higher-scoring postseason performance in NBA history.

Doncic did all of this with a sprained ankle, suffered in the second half of Game 3.

This incredible performance, especially in a win, was nothing shy of astonishing. Since the start of the playoffs he is averaging 31.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game, shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from 3-point range, and he has carried a heavy load with 36.2 percent usage. He’s doing this against one of the most effective defensive squads in the NBA, led by Kawhi Leonard.

Of course, it’s obvious to any fan or observer that  Luka Doncic’s performance is nothing shy of spectacular, and it’s not empty calories. He isn’t putting up these numbers in blowouts or losses, he’s helped his Dallas Mavericks battle one of the championship favorites to a draw through four games.

Not only are fans and media astonished by his play in the playoffs, but his peers are blown away as well. In fact, a handful of them jumped on Twitter to gush over his great play and his game-winning buzzer-beating step-back 3-pointer on Sunday.

Check out CJ McCollum:

Kevin Love is a man who has racked up plenty of big scoring, big rebound games in his career, and even he was beside himself at Luka’s performance:

https://twitter.com/kevinlove/status/1297664329332994053

Love’s praise didn’t end there:

In an entirely different sport, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was exuberant about his Luka jersey:

https://twitter.com/DezBryant/status/1297676218037415941

These accolades are great, and they’re so much more meaningful than your usual social media chatter. NBA players know better than anybody what the grind is like, how hard it is to do these things, and how special Luka is. But perhaps nobody’s praise is quite as meaningful as that of three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade:

That’s Dwyane Wade saying that.

Speaking of multi-time NBA champions, a certain LeBron James was watching too:

Unless you’re a Clippers fan (or maybe a Sacramento Kings fan, or perhaps an Atlanta Hawks or Phoenix Suns fan), this was a joyous day, a day where we saw a true coming of age for Luka Doncic. Watching Luka (he’s already a one-name superstar) has become a must-see event, whether it’s against the Detroit Pistons in February or the LA Clippers in August, or whatever month the first round of the NBA playoffs will be played in from now on.

We know that, both fans and media, but nobody knows it better than his fellow NBA players, and they’re excited to tell you all about it.