Luka Doncic has been getting a lot of appreciation for what he has brought to the game of basketball since coming in as the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. However, the MVP of that very year has been profoundly under criticism for his similar game to “Luka Magic” if not better.
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Yes, we are talking about James Harden, the man who showed everything Doncic currently has to offer years earlier.
While Doncic gets celebrated in the NBA community for it, The Beard got snubbed for multiple MVP awards because it looked like stat-stuffing to the fans and most of the media.
After the Mavericks star failed to get his team a win on Sunday, NBA Reddit raised a question about how good the former Real Madrid sensation is in comparison to the 10x All-Star.
Luka Doncic might be getting unnecessary love because James Harden didn’t
Given it is still early to compare the 23-year-old to one of the game’s 75 greatest players of all time, Doncic has had some similar years to that of Harden. Perhaps that’s the reason why fans often compare the tremendous scorers, both of whom do a lot more than just scoring.
NBA Reddit got into it once again after Mavericks’ loss to the Lakers last night.
Is current Luka Doncic closer to prime James Harden in terms of ability or was Harden always underrated?
by u/EarthWarping in nba
When one says Luka is better than Harden, and that he would have made it to the Finals if not for the Warriors in 2022, that’s because of the recency bias.
How scary good was prime Harden?
You have got to remember that Harden-led Rockets had the better chance against the Warriors in 2015 and 2018 with the now-Sixers guard putting up as good numbers as Doncic.
Most would say Harden choked in some of the most important games in those Playoffs, I’d say it was just because the Warriors exactly knew how to deal with him.
To this day, it’s just Michael Jordan of the late 80s whose individual brilliance on the offense is comparable to that of James Harden of the latter part of the past decade. But we will have to keep in mind that Harden averaged over 37 points for a season while dishing out over 7 assists a game.
Also read: James Harden Once Made 4000% Return on Incredible 2014 Investment Just 3 Years Later