Luka Doncic has been a star ever since he set foot in the NBA, but the Slovenian sensation certainly doesn’t look like the same player he was at 19 years old. When he first entered the league, he was incredibly skinny and played with a slightly quicker pace. Doncic has only continued to improve since his runaway Rookie of the Year victory in 2018-19, though, even if his body and play style have changed a bit over time.
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Patrick Beverley recently came across a viral compilation of Luka’s highlights from his first playoff series, which happened to be against Bev and the Los Angeles Clippers. As the most intense perimeter defender on the team, Beverley was often tasked with containing the opponent’s most talented scoring guard. This series was no different.
Pat Bev spent much of the six-game series defending Doncic, or at least attempting to. It wasn’t a successful first trip to the playoffs for Doncic’s Mavs, but he still made his mark. With averages of 31.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 8.7 assists for the series, Luka’s heroics may have been enough if it weren’t for Kawhi Leonard’s first-round masterclass.
Beverley lauded Luka’s offensive capabilities as the best he’s seen. “Toughest person I ever had to guard. Sheesh,” he tweeted. While the former point guard may have just been trying to give Doncic props, NBA fans couldn’t let Bev’s repeated sentiment slide.
“True he was cooking you,” one fan agreed.
“When you say that, what do you mean because I seen Kevin Durant give y’all 50 in the playoffs,” another fan questioned.
“Bro has said this about 5 different people,” a third user pointed out.
It’s true. While Beverley hasn’t praised other stars in the exact same words he used for Doncic, the 36-year-old has spoken very highly of other future Hall of Famers as well.
Back in 2020, during his appearance on JJ Redick’s podcast, Beverley claimed Damian Lillard to be his toughest defensive assignment. Dame was still at the top of his game at the time, of course. But it also came after the very playoff series Beverley just tweeted about.
“I say Dame,” Beverley told Redick. “Dame is one of the reasons why I went into the weight room. I told my guys, ‘Hey, I gotta get faster laterally. I don’t feel like I’m fast — I can’t keep up with the speed right now. I don’t know if I need to lose weight. I don’t know if I need to get stronger. I don’t know if I need to hire a new f***ing team. But I need to get f***ing faster.”
There’s nothing wrong with Beverley praising Doncic, who’s firmly established himself as one of the NBA’s elite. But given that he’s made similar claims about other players in the past, Pat Bev should’ve expected the social media backlash.
