LeBron James breaks down what makes Luka Doncic special: 'He doesn't even have to shoot' / News - Basketnews.com

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Dallas MaverickssuperstarLuka Doncic has taken the NBA by storm in his first four seasons, making the All-NBA First Team three times and carrying the Dallas Mavericks as far as the Western Conference Finals this year despite not having an All-Star teammate.

2-pointers this season

55%29,7Points made:29,7Accuracy:54,7%Place in standings:8Record max:43Record min:18Most made 2FGs:LeBron JamesTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The 23-year-old Slovenian guard holds career averages of 26.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and eight assists, as well as the second-best points-per-game average (32.5) in NBA playoff history.

It's no secret that LeBron James is a huge fan of his. James picks Doncic in the All-Star draft every year and has gone out of his way to praise his game on a handful of occasions throughout the last three years. The Lakers forward and recent member of the billionaires list even tried to make Doncic the ambassador of his 'Team LeBron' shoe before he ultimately signed with Jordan Brand.

On a recent episode of Uninterrupted, James took some time to praise Doncic's abilities once again.

"His size. I mean he's gigantic, 6-8 point guard. He’s 225 pounds. He has the ball on a string," said James.

"And more importantly, his vision. That's why I love him – his vision. He can control a game [and] he doesn't even have to shoot. Literally, he'll walk the ball up 10 straight times and get to his spot every single time, just because of his pace.

He knows when he comes off a pick and roll if they're hard showing or if they hedging or if they dropping the pick and roll. He knows I can turn the corner because I got this shoulder, and I know the third line of defense, when I get there, if I just slow down and use my pivots, not even jump, just the Euro one-two, this guy's flying by every time.

It's the mind," LeBron said.

The admiration is mutual for Doncic, as he idolized James growing up and even modeled some of his game after him.

"The way he plays the game reminds me of the way I play the game," James said during the All-Star Weekend. "We’re triple threats. We rebound, we pass, which is the number one thing on our mind - and we’ll put 40 on you too if you disrespect us.

It's LeBron James-like from the standpoint of how he’s able to rope that pass to shooters in corners, getting blitzed. There’s not many guys who can do that and put it right there. He does an amazing job of it."

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