DALLAS – Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry walked away thoroughly impressed with at he saw from Dallas Mavericks rookie forward Luka Doncic on Sunday night at American Airlines Center.
“He’s unbelievable,” Curry said. “You can tell he is experienced in terms of playing high level basketball.”
Doncic tallied a team-high 26 points in 32 minutes and also contributed six rebounds and five assists during the Mavs’ 119-114 loss to the Warriors. That includes knocking down a step-back 3-pointer right in the face of Kevin Durant near the end of the third quarter, which fascinated Curry.
“He’s a guy that is always at his own pace,” Curry said. “I’m sure he hasn’t heard all the doubters and the people talking about his game that really didn’t know much about him.
“He has made himself known, for sure. It is fun to watch in terms of the future of the league.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr went so far as to create a stir this past weekend when he said of Doncic, “He’s already an All-Star. I don’t know how the (All-Star) vote is going to shake out, but he looks like an All-Star player to me.”
On Sunday, Kerr did remind reporters that he does get to vote for the All-Star reserves if Doncic isn’t voted into the Feb. 17 midseason classic as a starter.
“I probably threw that out there without truly doing my homework,” Kerr said, referring to his Al-Star prediction of Doncic. “I do have a vote for (All-Star) reserves.
“I think what I meant to say is he sure looks like an All-Star. Whether he makes it or not, he’s an All-Star.”
In the second round of fan balloting for the All-Star game starters released last week, Doncic is second among frontcourt players with 2,220,077 votes – and right behind LeBron James (2,779,812). Paul George (1,859,216) is in third place, with only the top three frontcourt players voted in as starters.
Kerr acknowledged that Doncic has that “it” factor that separates regular players from great players. And he sees a budding superstar in the making in Doncic.
“Coming in (to the NBA) at 19-years-old (with over) 40 games under his belt and he looks like he’s been out here 10 years,” Kerr said. “That’s extremely rare, that kind of swagger, that kind of just confidence in his game, especially coming from overseas and living in the United States for the first time.
“All that stuff, you throw it together (and) you can see his poise and maturity.”
That poise and maturity has put Doncic firmly in place as the overwhelming frontrunner to capture this year’s prestigious Rookie of the Year award. Kerr definitely believes Doncic has the skill set and confidence to pull it off, along with a berth in next month’s All-Star game.
“Certain guys just stand out,” Kerr said. “You see what they do, you see what they mean to the game.
“If he doesn’t make (the All-Star game) this year, he’s going to make it soon enough.”
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