Basketball

“Is Luka Doncic a Ball Hog?!”: Jayson Tatum Shockingly Dribbles the Ball Over 300 Times Less Per Game Than Mavericks Star

Tonoy Sengupta
|PublishedJan 15, 2023

"Is Luka Doncic a Ball Hog?!": Jayson Tatum Shockingly Dribbles the Ball Over 300 Times Less Per Game Than Mavericks Star

Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum

Credits: USA Today

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.

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.

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.

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.

Also Read: Does Shaquille O’Neal Own Reebok? How The $2.4 Billion Purchase Brought Things Full Circle For Shaq

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.