Luka Doncic Draws Comparisons to Brandon Roy, Damian Lillard

Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic is drawing significant comparisons to NBA All-Stars Damian Lillard and Brandon Roy via his free-throw and 3-point shooting. The Ringer’s Zach Kram, in “You Remind Me of a Rookie That I Once Knew,” details how Doncic takes highly efficient shots and passes, which has led him to excel in his first year in the league.

Kram further compares Doncic to Tyreke Evans, Carmelo Anthony, and Steve Francis.

The top comp for Doncic had a worse similarity score than any other rookie’s top comp on their list; in other words, Doncic is the most unique rookie in this class. It’s not hard to see why, from either the prolific highlight reels or the box scores. Luka, for instance, is the best-ever personification of Moreyball in a rookie: No previous first-year player had ever taken such a high percentage of 3s and free throws while shooting enough to qualify for the field goal percentage leaderboard.

Francis was technically a Trail Blazer for 13 days in 2007 after being traded by the New York Knicks along with Channing Frye. It is safe to conclude that Doncic is the most Trail Blazers-esque rookie not actually drafted by the team.