Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic are two of the most dangerous players in the NBA. While Luka has mastered the art of slowing down the game, Shai has near-godlike control over the midrange, using the paint and surrounding areas to notch up 30.1 points per game last year. They’re both the best players on their respective teams and are the primary defensive assignments for the league’s premier defenders.
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Miles Bridges, who is one such defensive ace, was asked about the difference in guarding the two when he appeared on Jeff Teague’s ‘Club 520’ Podcast.
“Luka strong as hell. He’ll post you up, hit you with the fade, and he got some moves too. But Shai he just that bag work, straight bag work. Anytime you cut him off, straight bag work,” Bridges said when Teague asked him who his defensive assignments were.
However, the panel wasn’t happy with Bridges’ answer. Simply put, they wanted to know who was easier to guard and asked him to name one of the two. After some consideration, Bridges named the Slovenian.
“I’ll say Luka, cos sometimes Luka take the day off on certain matchups. If he don’t feel like playing that day, hell get that b***h to (Ky)Rie, like ‘Rie do your thing, go get 40’. Shai, he straight to it.”
Teague, who was a solid defender during his days in the league, felt Bridges got hard done by the question and came to his aid, saying, “They both tough coverages, I ain’t gonna let him get you know.” What he meant was he didn’t want the clip to get taken out of context and spread around social media with false narratives about Bridges’ comments.
While Bridges prefers to guard the Mavs’ ace, not many players in the NBA would agree with him. Patrick Beverly, formerly of the Clippers, is one of those players.
Beverley names Doncic as his hardest-ever assignment
Beverley frequently faced Doncic during his tenure with the Clippers. Because he held down a regular starting spot in LA, he found himself laden with the unenviable task of trying to stop the Slovenian.
In 2022, during his time with the Timberwolves, he even went so far as to name Doncic the hardest player he’s ever guarded in the NBA. In his prime, PatBev was one of the league’s better defenders and has been tasked with guarding the shiftiest players the NBA had to offer. He’s matched up with Steph Curry, James Harden and even Kyrie Irving. For him to still choose Luka just shows how good #77 really is.
Pat Beverley on the toughest player he’s had to defend in his career:
“Easy, so far it’s been Luka.” pic.twitter.com/lAeEmV9Ov8
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) March 25, 2022
The stats back it up, too. The two have faced off 10 times in the league, and with Beverley as his primary defender, Luka has averaged a cool 24.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists. These matchups involved four teams, as Beverley faced him while playing for the Clippers, Wolves, Lakers, and 76ers.
