If I had to pick between building my NBA team around Luka Doncic or Zion Williamson ...
The NBA’s next real-life action figure made a surprise visit to the AAC on Wednesday, and ... give me Luka.
The matchup of Luka Doncic v Zion Williamson drew Dez Bryant, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Real Madrid soccer star Eden Hazard to the AAC. (Spike Lee didn’t make it, most likely because the Mavs would not allow him to use the employee entrance.)
Zion Williamson may scare actual basketballs, and frighten the families of rims and backboards, but in the chat of whom you’d rather have your team build around, go with the Slovenian.
Zion will be more fun to watch in the short term, and has the NBA’s coolest name since Shaq, but Luka is the guy you want.
The New Orleans Pelicans made the decision on Wednesday morning when coach Alvin Gentry announced that Zion would play against the Mavs. Gentry and the Pelicans had not previously allowed their Duke alum rookie to play in the second of a back-to-back games this season.
Perhaps ESPN and the NBA gently nudged (mandated?) Gentry and the Pelicans into playing Zion for matchup we have wanted for months.
Or perhaps Gentry and the Pelicans were tired of babying their rookie after he missed the first several months of the season with a knee injury.
“He’s fine,” Gentry said when I asked him about Zion’s conditioning. “We worry about him too freakin’ much. He’s 19 years old. He’s fine.”
The game itself never did feature Zion going at Luka, or Luka going at Zion like Thanos vs. Thor. Without that matchup, Pelicans at Mavs was still a thoroughly entertaining real-life Avengers movie.
It was not until the final minutes of the Mavs’ 127-123 overtime win did we catch a blink of what we wanted to see: Two super heroes taking over.
With 1:40 remaining in overtime, Doncic hit two free throws.
On the ensuing possession, Zion attacked the rim to tie the game at 118.
Luka then answered with a step-back 3-pointer.
Zion was fouled and made one of two free throws. They were his fourth and fifth foul shots in a game where he was fouled a lot more than what was called.
Luka then hit a cutting Kristaps Porzingis with a gorgeous bounce pass that KP dunked on a pick and roll for a 4-point lead.
After a New Orleans miss, Luka embarrassed Pelicans guard Jrue Holliday with a dribble drive that put Doncic at the rim, only to be cut off by Zion.
“He has everything,” Holliday said. “He has eyes. He can post you up. He can pass. You better be careful.”
Luka came up an offensive rebound on that possession, and while Zion scored once more Luka and the Mavs had the win.
It was the first time this season the Mavs won a game when they trailed in the final four minutes in regulation. They “improved” to 1-25 in such games.
Doncic finished with another triple double, 30 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.
Zion scored 21 with six rebounds and three assists.
The only bad news for the Mavs was after the game Luka was taken for X-rays for an unspecified issue.
Luka vs. Zion
Since making his NBA debut on Jan. 22, Zion is averaging 24.2 points per game and 6.9 rebounds. He looks like an NFL tight end who plays basketball.
“We’re talking about a guy who has unprecedented strength and explosiveness and a great basketball feel,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Zion. “He’s a great, great young player.”
The Mavericks did everything possible to beat up Zion. Forward Maxi Kleber leaned on him, and the Mavs blocked Zion multiple times in the first half.
Zion had a few impressive plays, including one notable dunk, but the Mavericks made it a priority for him to feel pain. If he was going to score, it was going to be hard, and he was going to earn it.
“I am used to the physicality,” Zion said after the game. “They were very physical and I think I have to make better reads.”
Zion looks 29, but he sounds 19. This is a teenager.
He dominated college, and he can out-athlete anyone in the NBA not named LeBron. But out-jumping and out-athleting opponents has a shorter shelf life in the NBA.
Despite his imposing features, if you’re building a team around a single player, the guy you want isn’t Zion. It’s Luka.
What Doncic is doing is historic, and he just turned 21. At 21, Luka is now the franchise-record holder for triple doubles, with 22.
Doncic can do everything well, turn ish players into good ones, and he’s learning how to take over games late. He grasps space as well as a player can.
Watching Doncic and Williamson on the court for the first time was great theater.
Zion will most certainly pop Luka a few times in the future, but Mavs have the better player around which to build.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
