Luka Doncic fell one rebound short of becoming the youngest player in NBA history to register a triple-double Wednesday night.
Doncic’s stats in three of the past five games have only been matched by a teenager named LeBron James.
Dirk on Luka: "He’s made a name for himself. Any time you’re known by just your first name after just a few months in the league, that’s a great sign."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 27, 2018
The 19-year-old finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, leading the Dallas Mavericks past the visiting New Orleans Pelicans 122-119.
Per ESPN:
“I mean, it’s amazing,” Doncic said. “You all know that he’s my idol, so it’s just amazing to be there.”
James recently mentioned Doncic while listing players he would like to play with, which was the four-time MVP’s way of downplaying his comment that it would be “amazing” to one day be teammates with Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis.
“Maybe someday, we’ll see,” Doncic said with a smile.
James is one of several perennial All-Stars who recently raved about Doncic, who is averaging 19.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists, which are strikingly similar to James’ rookie stats (20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists). The list includes the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard and Davis.
“That’s special, special to me,” Doncic said. “I see what they say, so it’s like even more and more energy to work harder to be a better player.”
