Skip Bayless Ignores Luka Doncic’s Statistical Dominance, Claims Lost Respect for Mavericks Star

During the 2024 Playoffs, Luka Doncic put on a display of his offensive prowess and emerged as the leader in total points, assists, rebounds, and steals in the competition. However, this major statistical accomplishment was overshadowed by his Dallas Mavericks getting overwhelmed by the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the NBA Finals. As a result, Skip Bayless declared recently that he was disappointed in Doncic despite him dominating all major postseason statistical categories.

On his show UNDISPUTED, Bayless confessed that he had started to acknowledge Doncic’s growth during the 2023-24 season as he improved his three-point shooting and free-throw percentage by a good margin. However, the Mavericks guard’s inconsistent display during the Finals has apparently put a dent in Bayless’ esteem for him.

The FS1 host declared on his show earlier today, “I lost respect for Luka this year because I had gained so much this year during the Regular Season.”

The 72-year-old then remarked that Doncic had an impressive Western Conference run and his performance in the Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves especially stood out as he shot over 40% from deep against the athletic defense of Anthony Edwards.

Apart from that, the 25-year-old’s phenomenal road performances proved that he relishes silencing away crowds. Considering the Slovenian athlete’s ascension, Bayless built heavy expectations and believed that Doncic would carry the Mavs on his back during the Finals and emerge on top in seven games.

Bayless believed that the all-around talent of Luka will be able to overcome the hostile Boston crowd and lift his Mavs in a potential Game 7 scenario at TD Garden. However, much to Bayless’ chagrin, the Mavs guard played sloppy basketball in the three games he played in Boston. 

“I said, you know what, I think he can win couple of games in Boston and silly me, I said Luka in Seven because I thought he could win a Game 7 at the Garden. The shock to me was, by his standards, he stunk in Boston all three times.”

While Doncic did shoot over 40% during all the five Finals tilts, he committed 6.3 turnovers per game in three battles on Boston’s home floor. Apart from that, in Game 3, he fouled out with a few minutes left in the deciding quarter which jeopardized his team’s comeback from a 21-point deficit.

The Slovenian superstar knows as well that he needed to do more during the Finals.

Luka Doncic confessed that he didn’t provide adequate production

Fighting the despondency of losing on the biggest stage of the NBA, Luka Doncic gave sincere answers during the post-game presser. He downplayed the role of injuries in his team falling short and took the blame upon himself. The perennial MVP contender relayed, “It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much I was hurt. I was out there, trying to play. But I didn’t do enough.”

These words sum up the high standards that the incredible guard has set upon himself. He had some impressive numbers during the finals but the statistical aspect doesn’t resonate much when you fall short in the ultimate quest. It also highlights the rigors of being an MVP-level player.

You can run through the #4, #1, #2 seeds in the Western Conference but a loss in the final chapter dusts off the previous accomplishments. However, Luka Doncic learned a lot of valuable lessons during the Finals and will be ready to make another fairytale run soon.