Luka Doncic might be the best young player in the NBA right now, but Jayson Tatum sure isn’t too far away. Just last season, while the Mavericks man made it to the Western Conference Finals, the Celtics star went all the way to the NBA Finals.
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Of course, they were both beaten by the Golden State Warriors.
This season, both Doncic and Tatum have picked up right where they left off during last year’s playoffs, leading many to compare and contrast both their games. And it was exactly this that ended up exposing a rather massive difference in their game.
Let’s dive right into it.
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Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum’s total dribbles this season couldn’t be farther apart from each other
If you had to predict who dribbles the ball more between Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who would you pick?
Both players are the primary options of their team, so at first, both responses could seem almost equally likely.
Then it is revealed that Luka Doncic’s usage rate is 38.2% this season. Compared to that, Jayson Tatum’s usage rate this year stands at 32.8%.
Looking at this, you may think that Luka Doncic likely dribbles the ball a lot more. After all, he has the ball in his hands for longer.
But how much more? Take a look at the tweet below to find out.
Number of dribbles this season:
Luka Doncic: 20,311 (39 games)
Jayson Tatum: 7,645 (41 games)Team records
Mavs: 24-19
Celtics: 32-12Tatum averaging 30.6, 8.4 and 4 on THREE HUNDRED THIRTY THREE (333) less dribbles/game
😳 😳 😳
— CelticsForum (@celticsforum) January 14, 2023
Did you think the difference would be that chasmic in nature?
Is Luka Doncic a ball hog?
This season, Luka Doncic is averaging 34.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game.
“Is Luka Doncic a Ball Hog?!”
If that’s what you’re tryna make us think, you insane 💀💀
— Meloismybabbydaddy (@Melobabbydaddy) January 15, 2023
For someone who dribbles that much, those averages aren’t bad at all. Then you lean in a bit more to get the context of these numbers.
Luka Doncic is part of a team with two real ball handlers, which are him and Spencer Dinwiddie. Jayson Tatum is part of one that has him, Marcus Smart, and Jaylen Brown in just the starting line-up.
Add that to the fact that the two players’ playstyles are inherently different anyway, and the dribbles stop mattering completely.
So no, despite all his dribbling, Luka Doncic is not a ball hog even by a long shot.
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