There are only two players in NBA history to average at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists during their playoff career.
One of them is Michael Jordan. The other? Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
In 30 postseason games since entering the league in 2018, Doncic has averaged 32.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists. His latest feat of playoff heroics saw him lead the Mavericks to a 96-93 win in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Clippers on Tuesday night.
Doncic had 32 points, including a sensational step-back 3-pointer to put Dallas up 90-81 with 1:26 left, to go with six rebounds and nine assists. Outside of Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the rest of the Mavericks combined to score 41 points on 13-of-32 shooting (40.6%) from the field.
Enjoy Luka being HIM and letting EVERYONE know it pic.twitter.com/hDMeWlZB4b
— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) April 24, 2024
Luka also played uncharacteristically hard on the defensive end Tuesday, proving up to the task of staying in front of both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
“He’s Benjamin Button,” Jason Kidd said about Doncic after Game 2. “He’s going backwards. If you ask him, he’s going to tell you he can play 48 (minutes).”
Doncic and Jordan are the only players in NBA history to average at least 30 points per game in the playoffs during their careers. Jordan scored 33.4 points per game across 179 postseason contests. The only year he averaged less than 30 in the playoffs was during his second season in 1985, when he averaged 29.3 and 8.5 assists per game in a 3-1 series loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jordan helped the Bulls to nine straight playoff appearances from 1985-93, but he didn’t win his first playoff series until 1988. That year — Jordan’s fifth in the league — Chicago defeated Cleveland in the first round before falling to the Detroit Pistons, 3-2, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Luka also made his first playoff appearance as a second-year player, losing to the Clippers, 4-2, in the 2019 first round. He did manage to get his first series win earlier, though, as he led the Mavericks all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 before falling in five games to the Golden State Warriors.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 24, 2024
Doncic will hope the next stage of his career follows a similar path to MJ’s. After losing to Detroit in the postseason three years in a row from 1988-90, Jordan captured his first NBA Championship in 1991 — his seventh year in the league — leading the Bulls to a 4-1 win over the Lakers in the Finals.
Jordan was 27 years old when he won his first title, while Luka is currently only 25. That said, Doncic entered the league as an 18-year old in 2019 while Jordan was 21 before he made his NBA debut.
One edge Luka has over MJ is in playoff triple-doubles. Jordan only did it twice across his 179 playoff games, though both times (1989 and 1993) he did it against the New York Knicks.
Doncic has had a triple-double in 10% of his playoff games, or three of the 30 entering Game 3 against the Clippers. He last did it in back-to-back games against Golden State during the 2022 WCF.
Luka Doncic on his defense tonight:
“It’s playoffs. It’s different. They’re trying to double with me and I say no double. I take pride in my defense too. They’re always going to say that – the haters. But it’s fine. I’m out here enjoying playing basketball. That’s fun man.” pic.twitter.com/IZQWqawkUX
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) April 24, 2024
During the 2023-24 regular season, Doncic averaged 33.9 points per game, the most by any player in a single year since James Harden averaged 34.0 per game during the 2019-20 season.
Game 3 of Mavs-Clippers —which is being played in Dallas — is scheduled for Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be available to watch/stream on ESPN.
If Dallas wins the series over Los Angeles, it will play the winner of Oklahoma City and New Orleans in the Western Conference Semifinals.
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