Luka Doncic joins elite All-NBA class, misses historic distinction because of pandemic
Luka Doncic became the first Dallas Mavericks player to earn All-NBA First Team honors since Dirk Nowitzki in 2009, but could have earned another distinction if not for the coronavirus pandemic.
The second-year guard became the third-youngest player in NBA history to earn first team honors, but would have been the youngest had the season not been interrupted by COVID-19 and delayed the regular-season finale to August.
If the season had finished on April 15 as scheduled, Doncic would have been 21 years and 47 days old, which would have made him the youngest player to earn first team honors.
Only LeBron James in 2006 and Max Zaslofsky in 1947 were younger. A player’s age for such comparisons is determined by the date of the final regular season game.
Overall, Doncic is the third Mavericks player to earn All-NBA honors. Nowitzki earned it 12 times, including four first-team honors. Steve Nash was named to the third team in 2002 and 2003.
Doncic is the sixth NBA player to earn All-NBA first team honors at 21 or younger. Besides James and Zaslofsky, the list also includes Kevin Durant (2010), Tim Duncan (1998) and Rick Barry (1966).
Other Doncic superlatives from the 2019-2020 season:
- He’s the first player to earn first team honors in his first or season season since Tim Duncan did it as a rookie in 1999.
- He averaged 28.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists in 61 games in the 2019-2020 season, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players to average at least 28-9-8 in a season.
- He became the youngest player in league history to lead the league outright with 17 triple-doubles. He became the Mavs’ all-time leader with 25 career triple-doubles in his second season in the NBA.
- He finished the season as the league leader with 5 games of at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists; 18 games with 30-10-7; and 50 games with 20-5-5.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
