Dallas Mavericks

NBA scout calls Luka Doncic worst transition defender in NBA history

Published by
Peter Dewey

One NBA scout reportedly called Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic the worst transition defender in the history of basketball.

“I did have a scout tell me he’s the worst transition defender in the history of basketball,” Tim MacMahon said on The Lowe Post. “When he said that, I thought he had analytical evidence. I’m like, ‘Statistically?’ And he goes, ‘No, just watch him.’”

It’s quite the comment to make about one of the league’s biggest stars, but it seems more like an opinion from the scout than an actual statistical argument. Either way, it’s not a great label to have following the former first-round pick.

Doncic is without a doubt one of the league’s most talented players on offense, but he may take a little more criticism than he deserves on the defensive end. He has often been called out by fans and members of the press for a lack of effort on defense. Beyond that, though he is incredibly skilled, he is not overly athletic. That sometimes makes defensive assignments more difficult.

While Doncic isn’t going to blow anyone out of the water with his defensive ability, he isn’t a complete liability on that end of the floor.

As for Doncic’s transition defense, the scout seems to think that he doesn’t do much to slow down his opponents. Despite that, the Mavericks All-Star is still one of the most valuable players in the NBA.

This season, Doncic is averaging 32.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Dallas, which currently sits outside of the play-in tournament field in the Western Conference as the No. 11 seed, has struggled to win games even with Doncic’s All-NBA caliber season.

As a team, Dallas is below average defensively, ranking 23rd in the league in defensive rating. However, the team as a whole isn’t terrible in transition, ranking 13th in the league in opponent fast break points allowed per game.

It will be interesting to see if Doncic can grow as a defender as his career continues to change this one scout’s perception of his game.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball, football and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

NBA world scolds Patrick Beverley for incident with female ESPN producer

Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley had an interesting interaction with an ESPN producer following his…

4 hours ago

Charles Barkley opens up on deep depression due to gambling, estimates he’s lost around $25M

Basketball analyst and former NBA superstar Charles Barkley has made a fortune in his career,…

17 hours ago

‘To the hospital first’: Udonis Haslem on where Miami Heat go after playoff loss to Boston Celtics

The Miami Heat were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their first-round…

21 hours ago

Former NFL GM on Atlanta Falcons taking Michael Penix Jr.: ‘No adult supervision’

One former NFL general manager questioned the Atlanta Falcons’ decision to pick quarterback Michael Penix…

21 hours ago

Antonio Brown goes after Shannon Sharpe’s sexuality, references multiple photos of sex toys

Former NFL superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown has become quite infamous for his online antics…

2 days ago

Yet another Michael Porter Jr. brother has been accused of wrongdoing, this time in Missouri

Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr.'s brother Jevon was reportedly arrested in the state of…

2 days ago