Luka Doncic’s fundamental game isn’t something that’s talked about often. But his mastery of it is the reason why he’s playing so well.
Luka Doncic is not an athletic and flashy player.
There, I said it.
But you know what? He’s still a top-tier NBA player who often pulls off some real nice plays.
During the bizarre 2020 NBA Playoffs, Doncic showed NBA fans his true talents.
Being only a second-year player competing in his first NBA playoff series, he led his team in the big three stats while being their floor general.
He was the Dallas Mavericks’ go-to guy.
And boy, did he take his role seriously as he punished his opponents, the Los Angeles Clippers.
Luka scored on his defenders at his own will (averaged 31 points on 50 percent shooting) and sneakily assisted his teammates (averaged 8.7 assists per game) when his opponents toughened up the defence on him.
The only reason he was able to perform this well is that he has a sound knowledge of the fundamentals of basketball.
However, the Clippers ended up winning the series (most likely because of Kawhi Leonard’s superior old man game). But this doesn’t detract from how masterfully Doncic performed in that series.
(On a side note, the Mavericks could’ve arguably taken that series had it not been for injuries to the team. Just wanted to put that out there.)
How Luka Doncic is Able to Dominate His Opponents
According to former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Doncic has a skill that not many American players have.
Arenas claims that Doncic is highly skilled and has the perfect style for the half-court game.
He says that the Mavs’ star is able to use his high-level fundamentals to slow down the game to deke his athletic defenders whenever he wants (this is similar to what Andre Miller did in one of his best games).
“Luka has the advantage over anyone guarding him because [American players] are too athletic for [the half-court] part of the game. Open court, [American players] have him. But half-court where you have to be disciplined, you never learned it. So these basic moves that make you think I’m going to go that way, but I come back this way, [American players] overplay it. Pump fake, ya jumping, foul.
“[Doncic] plays the puppet master game with you. And that’s why fundamentals are important.”
Arenas adds that new players, especially kids, need to hone their fundamental skills first and foremost.
They need to have their, footwork for instance, down before they start learning any of the explosive and flashy moves.
“You need the fundamentals before your athleticism kicks in. Before the athleticism kicks in and takes over, you need to learn how to use your feet. The first thing you need to teach him is footwork before his jumping ability comes.”
Why Basketball Fundamentals Are Important
This is a premise that I’ve been arguing for on this blog.
If you sift through my previous articles, you’ll notice that I heavily promote mastery of the fundamentals.
And Luka Doncic is the perfect example of why.
As I said earlier, Luka is not that athletic nor is he flashy.
He keeps his game relatively simple. He’ll sprinkle in flashy plays once in a while, but only once in a while (commentators call it “Luka Magic”).
And yet, he is one of the best players in the league (and he still has so much more room to grow).
This goes to show that you (average Joes) don’t need to adopt Kyrie Irving’s or Ja Morant’s style to play basketball well.
You can just get really, really good at the fundamentals and you’ll be effective too; you can cross up and own some defenders with simplicity. Your plays won’t look as cool, but you’ll produce.
And isn’t that what’s important in this game?