The NBA has plenty of choices to pick for their new absolute representation, but Stephen Curry believes that Luka Doncic is the next man up.
Upon appearing on the latest episode of Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena” show, Curry explains why the Dallas Mavericks sensation will go on and set out to conquer the league for years to come.
“Luka (Doncic) is like the guy, obviously, that’s right on the precipice of accomplishing all those accolades and just what he’s about as a player. And that threshold (he has) of like, how do you just crack through – I hope it’s not now. But when you play against him, you can feel it,” he said.
Curry truly had those key moments to realize that Doncic is the next big thing in the NBA when he faced the Slovenian phenom in the Western Conference Finals back in the 2021-22 season. Despite the fact that he and the Golden State Warriors emerged victorious to represent the West, they had a difficult time containing Doncic who averaged 32 points, 9.2 boards, 6.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks on their five-game set.
At 24 years of age, Doncic already cemented his case as one of the best players in the world by capturing four All-NBA selections and four All-Star honors using his dazzling all-around wonders. Last regular season, he went nuclear offensively by tallying a career-best 32.4 points on 49.6 percent shooting to go with 8.6 boards and 8.0 assists for 66 games of play.
Besides Doncic, Curry also highlighted Trae Young as a promising star to watch in the future given the star guard’s special skill set and leadership to the Atlanta Hawks which resulted in an early trip to the Conference Finals last 2020-21 season.
The two-time All-Star boasts that special combination of three-level scoring tendencies and elite playmaking which is evident from his 25.5-point, 9.3-assist averages across five seasons so far in his career.
“Trae Young is like a dude who’s been on the Conference Finals early in his career. The (Hawks) are trying to figure out the right combination around him to complement what he brings on the team in terms of his leadership and his ability to push in terms of winning games,” he said.
“There’s a lot of young talent. The league is in good hands. I respect (them), but I just hope it’s not too soon (for us in Golden State) because we still got a lot to do.”
