Is Luka Doncic BETTER Than LeBron Was at 23? 

When Low and ticket on the same page you know you in trouble 😂😂

You couldnt possibly have WATCHED LeBron LIVE in ‘08. It was hella pressure and the hype was him and Kobe and short of making a Finals apperance ‘08-‘10 he EXCEEDED every expectation. Lets not forget, the Mavs won the first round playoff series last year against Utah with Luka sitting three games. The Cavs were a lottery team any time LeBron even went to the bench

23 Bron.His leadership, defense, athleticism and able to get the most out of teammates even at that young of an age was crazy. Luka's offensive package is more refined because of his pro career pre NBA, but the overall package I think is still Bron. And Bron was getting people's best shots because of the hype coming into the NBA. Luka kinda snuck up on people. I remember on draft night when the announcers didn't know who he was.

“If A.I was 6’6, we all in trouble in the league” - Kobe. AI factually is only 6’0, and that’s all we saw. If Luka isn’t as athletic as Lebron and sometimes came into the season out of shape at times, then that’s got to be held against Luka.

They're valuing scoring over defense and Athleticism. Thats whats happening here

Nah Chill was nasty for that at 2:08. Man really wanted to say that 2007 Pistons was better than the 2022 Warriors so bad but knew he would be wrong lmfao

Luka and Lebron both averaged about 20-21ppg their rookies year. Lebron was coming out of HS and playing in a slower offensive era. This notion Lebron didn’t play defense is idiotic. He wasn’t elite, but he was a factor of defense. Luka is starting to play a modicum of defense, but really relies on his teammates to shore up his shortcomings on that end of the court.

Ill take Luka at 23, but I dont think Luka is going to be better than lebron from 2009-2018.

Luka at 23 now is more of an instinctual scorer in my opinion definitely Kobe/MJ/bird type mentality, I'd say Bron is and always has been a playmaker first which can be detrimental to his game but if I'm choosing between bron and Luka both at 23 taking bron still because of his impact with scrubs and athleticism.

Luka came in more polished and refined alr at 23, lebron was amazing at 23 but he still had some kinks to work out, defense wasn't there yet, offensive game wasn't what it became, and honestly he still seemed at times starstruck in big playoff moments. As a proud lebron fan I have to say luka

The cavs Averaged 96.4 pts per game in 07-08. Bron: 30pts 7.9rb 7.2 assist 1.8 stl 1.1blocks 3.4 TO VS the mavs Averaging 112.4 Luka 34.2pts 9.1rb 8.8 assist. 1.6 stl 0.6 blocks 3.7 TO. Even with 16pts less bron got better numbers I ain't gonna mention the defensive side .

Saying bron can't play off ball is bs. He's one of the best cutters in the game

I think at 23 they're virtually identical in terms of production and game impact with different playstyles. The league was a bit lower scoring overall in 08, but Bron led the league in scoring just like Luka is now. 8 rebounds and 7 assists to 9 and 9 isn't enough of a divide to clear one over the other, especially with scoring being easier now leading to more assists. Neither the Mavs or the 08 Cavaliers are good teams aside from their superstars, but I would have to give the edge to the current Mavs. Luka's game is more polished from playing pro earlier, but the question wasn't who has the more efficient game. I don't think you can take one above the other, they occupy the same pinnacle of ability

Brons defense separates him!

if bron had this level of shooting around him at that age his numbers would have been crazy plus the era difference definitely matters as well

I don’t know a non-big can go from not a good defender to DPOY caliber in one year but ok. Also the off ball point is very important. I rarely see luka cut to the basket,set screens,catch lobs, or move around the perimeter. Bron to me was better off-ball pretty clearly with his ability as a lob threat and cutter alone. And while he might not have been an elite defender he was still noticeably better than luka like cmon now.

I’m. Glad he brought up the 07 Cavs defense because they locked down Tim Duncan that series , Lebron played like crap in 07 the games were closer than the sweep implies he just had to play well even once ,that factor is important because the Eastern Conference teams of that era were more focused on defense more than almost every team built their identity on defense in that 2000’s era now the West was know more for running and gunning

Are we really comparing 2023 scoring stats to 2007-2008 bruh back then they was still scoring in the nineties in the regular season cause dudes could put the clamp on you without worrying about fouling out.

Y’all literally hate bron with a passion in the comment section every day

Bron is way more dominant the era was way more competitive and he had less experience. I'm taking Bron easy he was just unmatched potential wise nobody could stop him defensively and he was a better defender

Bron numbers were bigger percentages of his overall team. Bron averaging 32 and 30 when the average total was 100 when luka averaging the same with a 112 average type shit

23 Luka > 08 Lebron, Lebron took his biggest leap in the 09 season after the Olympics though. So the question is will Luka take another leap next year to reach the 09 Lebron level.

I’d still give to Bron bc Bron played in a more strict and old school type structure and still put up 30/8/7 which is close to what Luka is averaging now. HOWEVER, the reason Bron gets the nod, is because I felt the old school game that was more restricted either by rules, coaches, play styles, etc. I think if you took them both as they are, at 23, don’t change anything, and had them swap eras, I see LeBron doing better in this era, opposed to Luka in the old NBA. Luka has gone on record and said that playing in the current NBA is easier than playing overseas, but there’s just way more athleticism. Well the 2000s NBA, Luka would’ve been in, would’ve been just as fundamental and tough, if not tougher, than what he experienced in Madrid, it’d also be waaaay more athletic. This isn’t a knock on Luka, or any of today’s stars, but any fans of the NBA, at least the last 20 years, will tell you that the game is easier to be played now. Yes, players have more skills, but many lack fundamentals, so the professional game now looks and is more similar to a casual, but intense, pick up game, hence the crazy numbers this season. So it kind of begs the question, well if this is what players of today are putting up with barely anything to restrict them, well what players of yesteryear look like if they were freed from some of those restrictions as well?

The bron disrespect is gettin weird they always forget recently

Lebron fans: Lebron vs kobe - Lebron average more points, assists, rebounds than kobe so he better Lebron fans: Lebron vs luka - luka average more points, assists, rebounds than lebron but let's add context and put things into perspective to say lebron better Can't make this up

Luka missed the play-in with kyrie stop it

Better numbers is a bad argument in the statflation era

This man said let's take the numbers off the table 😂😂😂😂

This is just a debate of elite developed skill vs elite combination of size plus athleticism plus off-the-court intangibles and raw skill that’s still developing

Luka is in mvp convo averaging 34,9,9 at 23. It’s definitely Luka over lebron

Luka was playing wit grown men at a young age and is more polished for the nba

Why they using stats so much if luka play in a era where stats are way higher and people score way more than when lebron was 23

Low that’s not fair. Luka been playing NBA talent since age 14. Luka should be better at age 23. His talent matches his early access, which is a scary combination

Lo was 13 yrs old in 2008. Yet he Truly believe that basketball reference screen makes him fully knowledgeable. Smh lol

I’m here 7 months later and this is still one of the dumbest arguments I’ve heard from the panel. Lebron at 23 is so clear cut better then luka then and now. Luka got Kyrie and bro go bounced by the hornets out the play in. Fluent and Low needa get a grip💀

Lol I love how they say Lebron had a top5 defense in the nba around him instead of the truth which was that Larry Hughes and Lebron hittin his grown ass man phase, as two all-time great defenders, made them a Top5 defense in the NBA. With Brown wanting to play faster, Hughes and LBJ pushed newly acquired young Dre Gooden/rookie Varajao to protect tf outta the rim. That then pushed/helped improve Big Z’s rim protection, before Hughes/Bron could be let loose as defenders pressuring both tf outta the ball and the tf outta backcourt scorer and wings off-the-ball. Thus making them a Top5 Defense in the NBA when they got Tim protection and could force turnovers early and often to get Lebron playin in transit early. A Top5 defense that was EASILY swept by Peak Timmy in the high post, Bowen pressuring Hughes with Timmy behind him if he got blown by and 6’9 Robert Horry being used as one of the 1st 3PT shooting stretch 4’s.

lebron stats wasn’t at pg..luka has the ball the entire game while playing with non rebounding big men n no passers while lebron played with a point guard n bigs n he still got them boards n assists n points while not being considered a scorer n a non shooter

This is a bad take. Y’all so in love with stats y’all forget different pace and era.

Does the NBA have that thing called Defense still?

nobody at 23 has averaged 34, 9 ,9 accepted Luka and oscar

I’m a Curry fan but damn y’all disrespecting the fuck outta the King. 27-8-7 in his first 5 years

It's two completely different leagues from when Bron was 23 to now.

if ur using numbers from 2008 that means they think luka is better than MVP Kobe. Luka is special but lebron in 08 was better

And about Luka and Bron , I give it to Bron , one thing about Luka in his early career is how he isolated Porzingus and he never used him as a weapon because Luka is just too ball dominant

am i the only one that thinks luka's last year run was better than lebron's 07 run. Last year's suns are better than any team lebron beat and if people gonna say luka had brunson i would argue ilgauskas is better than brunson

Luka at 23 averaged more points, rebounds and assist per 100 possessions on higher TS% 🤷‍♂️. But I’m still taking LeBron because he was overall better in the advanced statistic category and led his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs while Luka missed the playoffs this year.

Nah Bron led his team to a final

Y’all do realize in 09 bron was runner up for dpoy so he did have defense especially compared to luka

I would say Lebron. Luka is playing in the 3pt era and has the spacing to allow him to excel. 23 year old Lebron was playing when teams still had the center and PF within 10 ft of the basket. It’s two different eras of basketball. It 23 year old Lebron played in todays spacing he’d be doing exactly what Lukas doing if not more due to his athleticism. Comparing players 15 years apart is just ridiculous to me.

Some one that played atleast at a college should be here atleast 1

I remember Ron Artest Saying he played against a young Bron when he was like 15-16 years old and he was killing the NBA vets and by 18 he was ready for the League. Luka cold but the times are different. Drop Luka in 03, I don’t see him cooking like he is now

lebrons athleticism n defense gives him the edge..luka is slower n less athletic that would set him back verses a more defensive nba n athletic nba

I’m taking bron easy

Same trajectory? But defense isn’t even close!!! Low tell me you don’t care about defense without telling me you don’t care about defense. And we’re discounting the era. Ig luka at 23 better than Kobe at 23 too and mj since defense don’t matter. They saying Luka has no help but go look at bron teams. Low uses stats to help his point like assists when it helps luka but don’t adjust for era. Low need to go out and try to hoop and see why they bring up about luka.

Lebron didn’t come in playing against grown men ? Lebron was 18 when he entered the league ….

Lebron he won a scoring title took his team to the finals . All star mvp and he won an Olympic medal and league mvp at 23

LUKA IS CONE WORK CANT PLAY DEFENSE

It might be Luka is the better player for various reasons. But Ron had a point about them as far as play making, making their teammates better, and trusting their teammates. Luka this year is top 5 all time in usage rate, Lebrons highest usage rate of his career doesn’t even crack the top 50. Usage tells a different story, Westbrook and harden have top two all time I. Usage rate, both in years where they had mvp numbers and higher assists than Lebron. Does this make Westbrook a better passer and playmaker? No, it doesn’t. This is why numbers don’t tell the full story, and if you use numbers you have to use more numbers to get a better picture. AI is top ten usage rate 2001-2002 season when they went to finals, Jordan and Kobe have high usage rates on that list. D wade has higher usage rates than Lebron. It shows a lot that lebron could go to a team with another superstar and they both eat. Luka hasn’t proven that yet. That’s a flaw in his game, that even if you give him a superstar, would he be willing to share the shine, or will he let his ego get the best of him.

I'd give a slight edge to LeBron because of defense. But if you're talking about skill and ability, Luka clears

“I can’t put Luka heart in Bron’s chest” 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀💀 as a fellow Kobe fan I found that comment to be so hilarious! Don’t know if I agree, Lebron got heart but I knew exactly what he was tryna say

this aged so well its not even funny mavs went to finals and now they got klay

People are just pulling out every trick in the book to try and shit on LeBron’s legacy. A lot of his haters are mad that he’s been playing like a madman, got the Player Of The Week award while averaging 35/9/8, got LA on a 5-game win-streak with no AD. This is crazy…

Low don’t understand Luka might just look better because he playing in this open era with smaller players and a faster pace. That’s a huge difference STOP COMPARING ERAS if you can’t keep that as the number 1 thing

They didn’t bring up Luka completely destroying the suns in Game 7

Luka stats are nice but he don't play defense and lebron is a better passer and leader and lebron actually made it to the finals smh what are we talking about

Lo be looking like he can’t wait to fuck up a box of chicken Lmfaoo

luka is not in the same conversation as bron. Bron was arguably the best player in the league in 08 luka is not

Luka is out here beating Wilt Chamberlain's records 60/21/10 and don't come at me with era crap, no one else is close to these numbers with that many freaking rebounds and crap, man owns this league.

Luka rn is better, even with the era’s being adjusted. Not one argument i saw in the video or the comments has moved me to believe Bron was better because they are either just wrong or don’t actually make lebron better

How this is even a debate

There is no way OG had to think about the 07 pistons or 22 warriors. The lengths some will go to give lebron an edge😂

“He was tryna find a way to cap out low” is crazy LMAO

Put 23 year old lebron on luka team full of shooters and put Luka on that cavs team my point bron is better

Luka Doncic is one of the best passers the game has ever seen and this man said Luka isn’t a willing passer lol

Lo must be off them drugs smh

Luka not making it out the east with Giannis/kawhi/heat/76ers during that time come on bro

Ron made a great point LeBron has always been a great cutter and lob threat..Also he’s 10x better in transition & on defense. LeBron averaged 30 as a 23 year old. With a lacking jumpshot from 3. still shot 50% from 2 & took his team to game 7 of the conf semis vs the nba champs who i think were better than last year’s warriors and LeBron did not have a Jalen Brunson

Luka is better but totally different style of play and less hype so tough comparison. Numbers all on Luka's side though. Luka is a + defender now too.

Lebron at 23 not at his defensive peak is still way better than Luka ever been on D lol

Let’s call their play a wash I would have to give it to Luka cause his clutch time performance. That isn’t even close at this point.

I wished they would’ve asked this same question but with Kobe at 23, we would’ve seen a whole different energy with fluent and ticket in terms of the numbers lol the flip flop duo

Bron was compared to Jordan at 23

These hypothetical debates ruining the game lmao

Ox was waffling on this , speak properly 😂

Lebron was an elite 2-way player until his 2nd Cleveland stint. Luka is a cone on defense. Lebron started in a harder, more physical era. You still had elite shotblockers patrolling in the middle back then. I don’t think Luka puts up these numbers in the early 2000s. He’s still a top 10 player and scorer and possible MVP. But averaging 35ppg midway into the season. Hell no. Until the game changed due to 3pt focusing, spacing, slower pace and no hand checking. I don’t think Harden has that 35ppg season he had in Houston either. Personally, Lebron doesn’t average 29-30ppg at 38 years old in the 90s or early 2000s either.

Defense means nothing.

Damn basketball comes down to just stats now? We doomed

Being a two way player means nothing now I guess.

BRUH IF YOU THINK LUKA WAS BETTER THAN BRON AT 23 YOU DONT KNOW BALL BRUH

Luke at 23 > LeBron at 23…old school know he capped out for trying to put the 07 Pistons over last year’s Warriors. 😂😂😂

If 23 year old bron was playing in 2023???????? GTFO HERE BRO THEM NUMBERS WOULDVE BEEN LIKE 30-11-10

but they act like athleticism impossible for luka to improve on .. if he lock in or like boot camp he could be jumpin out the gym w the science he got access to

“08 Lebron is peak Athletic leBron

Luka has a way more talented team than lebron did and can’t get out of the second round. Plus, Luka doesn’t play defense.

Luka got bron beat in Shooting.. but other than that LeBron 6’9 240 and is stronger, faster, bigger, taller, better defender, better driver, and just puts a whole different type of pressure on the defense

What does 23 year old Lebron do better than Luka is the better question. Athleticism and defense is in LeBron’s favor but as far as scoring, passing, rebounding, clutch, IQ, success. All of that is Luka. And it’s not even close. Lebron played with multiple all stars in his first trip with Cleveland before Miami. Luka has played with NONE and still went to the conference finals. Luka is truly built different.

Lebron athleticism in 2008 alone made him better than luka. Lebron just carried the team to the finals a year prior and this season was right before his back2back mvp years

Luka had better teammates as well stop it

Hard to judge by numbers with Luka being in this watered down era. We gotta look strictly at their abilities & what they do in big moments at that age

These guys think assist totals always equate to high IQ. Luka has high IQ. But lebron had higher IQ even with lower assist numbers. Just like with Jordan they disregard important points that’s in lebron’s favor. Luka gets high numbers off high shot attempts. The game is different.. every team in the league is putting up high numbers from top to bottom. So stats are alittle inflated in a sense these days. 30 pts feel like 20-25 pts. Disregarding lebron’s athleticism is a lame take. But counting luka’s shooting is ok? Lebron with luka shot would literally be the same as luka with athleticism. Same attributes but said In opposite order.. I don’t get it. Anything to shit on bron. It’s crazy.