“Like His Effort on Defense More”: Paul Pierce Picks Between Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic are fast emerging as the two best guards in the NBA. They finished second and third, respectively, in the race for the MVP award last season, behind Nikola Jokic, and are in the running again. While it’s hard to argue against them being the top two, there’s a legitimate debate about who’s the best. In Paul Pierce’s estimation, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander for two reasons.

He debated the topic on the latest episode of The Truth Lounge with guests Jason Crowe and Arlo Dotson. The latter claimed he’d he would take Doncic if he was starting a team. However, SGA was his pick for the MVP award. Pierce concurred his take about the coveted prize. However, he believes the OKC star is the better player as well. He said,

“I’m taking SGA, and I’ll tell you why. I feel like they can both score pretty well, I just like his effort on defense a little more, and he don’t complain to the refs. That’s the one thing about Luka that holds him back sometimes.”

Pierce added that Doncic got exposed on defense in last year’s NBA Finals, to which Crowe hilariously responded, “The where?” With two words, he reminded the Hall of Famer that the Slovenian led the Mavericks to the Finals and had taken down SGA and the Thunder en route to the championship series.

They debated without reaching a consensus, which is usually how a discussion about the better player between the two would end.

Doncic vs. SGA: There’s no clear answer on which one is better

Pierce is right about Doncic’s constant bickering to referees being annoying. That does make him less likable than Gilgeous-Alexander but not a better player.

The Hall of Famer’s point about preferring Shai because of his defensive superiority seems to be based on reputation. Doncic has improved tremendously on the defensive end. He’s second in the league to Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels with 2.1 steals per game and has a defensive rating of 108.5, which ranks 12th among guards.

SGA is second on that list with a rating of 103.5 However, he’s surrounded by elite defenders, a luxury Doncic doesn’t have in Dallas. Five of the top nine players with the best defensive rating this season play for OKC. Astonishingly the guard isn’t one of them. He’s 22nd on the list.

The highest-ranked Maverick on that list is Dereck Lively in 31st. The numbers suggest Doncic has been more impressive as a defender than Gilgeous-Alexander.

On the offensive end, the OKC star is averaging 30.3 points on 51% shooting, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. He has led the Thunder to first place in the West with a 20-5 record. The Mavericks sensation is putting up 28.9 points on 45.9% shooting, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. Dallas is 17-9 and a half-game out of second in the West.

Both players have been terrific on either end of the floor and have led their teams tremendously. It eventually comes down to personal preference.