This is really what’s at the heart of it. If you’ve ever played basketball against someone that can really hit their step backs, it’s ALWAYS on your mind that they’re going into that move. There are guys that are really good at selling a move with their body and then changing course immediately. The combination of that (defenders preoccupation with him launching a shot + his ability to sell + his ability to change course) means that it just doesn’t matter how fast he is because the defender is off balance and out of position.
You forgot he’s bigger or heavier or stronger or quicker or more skilled than whoever he’s going up against. At that point it doesn’t matter if you’re faster because there isn’t enough room positionally to take advantage of that.
Luka is the definition of understanding position and using his weight and size, and whatever thing he can leverage to his advantage.
Literally an opposite universe version of LeBron IMO
Yeah - LeBron and Luka both have the passing gene, the incredible size and strength, and off the charts basketball IQ. The differences are really that Luka is a much better shooter than LeBron was at the same age, and LeBron is the most athletic 6’8”+ player I’ve ever seen (and a much better defender)
his footwork is a huge part of it. speed is useless if you stumble over yourself. also given that you know where U are going (and Ur opponent doesn't) your first step should be faster than Ur opponents regardless of speed. luka uses his first step really well and from their the defenders are playing from behind.
He becomes like a magnet with the step back, which he uses the threat of to force the player to be a little closer. Or he just does the stepback motion and they come up. If they don’t that’s a wide open 3. If they do, then he goes to the hoop. If you keep up, he bumps you and/or jails you. If you fall behind, he goes for the layup or bank/floater/push shot if the big steps up.
Alternatively there are also open teammates potentially through all of that motion, enabling those passing lanes and cutting opportunities.
Ok now add Kyrie on the other side.
It's like Arjen Robben going left in football. People saying 'you know he will go lefz why do you let him' because it's like 100 instances in every possession when he COULD go left. You can expect it but still cant react to it well enough.
Yeah, I'd agree. It's a body language thing when you're guarding. If you're good at reading the person's body language, you can figure out what to do. But Luka is a tricky bastard. He has enough tools in his belt to be able to keep you hesitant all the time. Jokic isn't that much different. He's not quick, but it seems like he always has a million options at his fingertips.
ugh. it's fadeaways with me.
you can't guard a fadeaway unless you're about 3-4 inches taller than the guy. If you're shorter, forget it. The best you can do is make him uncomfortable and not let him get where he wants to get on the court. But once he's there and he's committed, then that's it.
The worst part about it is usually I feel like I've played great defense. I turn around, and swish, nothing I could have done better. My teammates will look at me and shrug, say "great defense". yeah i know, but he still made it. fuck my life.
> you can’t guard a fadeaway unless you’re about 3-4 inches taller than the guy. If you’re shorter, forget it.
I have PTSD from all the fadeaways my buddy has hit in my face when we play 1 on 1. He’s 4 inches taller than me, and there’s nothing I can do unless I completely sell out for it, and if you leave your feet early, you’re boned.
And this is why fadeaways will forever be my favorite shot make. You can do nothing but shake the man’s hand. It’s a beautiful shot that is extremely difficult to perform.
And even more so if you insult some random rich guy sitting on the front row with his son with an observation about their mother / grandmother just because they thought it might be fun to heckle you.
Not just that but he can also hit insane passes, so defenders have to be thinking too much about contesting the shot, if they will get faked, or if it's a disguised pass. This can either mean they are slow to react or are too jumpy to react
He has an uncanny ability to get his guys going and engaged on both ends of the floor. He will pass a shot if a better momentum play is there for his teammates. Passing skills might be a higher level than his shooting which is wild to think about.
The difference between Luka and Jokic is that Jokic is stationary and passes to moving teammates, Luka is moving and passing to stationary teammates. It looks like prettier basketball for jokic, like he’s getting his teammates more involved, but the effect is the same
This is the reason. The reason people fall for every fake is because at any given moment he can do ANYTHING. That takes such a mental capacity for a defender and means they’re lagging behind by 0.5 seconds at all times
3-level scorer that is also an elite playmaker with every pass in his arsenal basically makes him an impossible assignment on defense
If his stepback 3 (which is probably the worst shot you can force him to take) is falling, forget about it.
Reminds me of prime LeBron where there was just nothing you could do to stop him from getting a shot he can probably hit off or getting the ball out to a teammate. Dude would Houdini the fuck out of a triple team while pinned along the baseline and find Mario Chalmers waiting wide open on the other end of the court with enough time to check the wind before lighting one
Yeah the early era of LeBron, whichever goddamn of his 5 primes, in which people basically had to hope his jumpshot wasn't landing and defend him similar to how folks have to defend Giannis and that he's never gotten a good whistle for freethrows.
Grantland did a fantastic article on LeBron learning in Miami how to get to his ideal spots to shoot, drive or pass.
Luka has his spots but his offensive versatility means he's essentially dangerous with the ball anywhere on the court, including his range to send oops to teammates already near the basket.
Defending Luka means having to consider every option and with fantastic perimeter defence at best you might 'force' him into stepbacks on a day when his three isn't falling.
And now it seems even trying to go at him when he's defending and hoping to wear his legs out isn't as effective as it used to be.
Nothing but books stands up to what Grantland produced in their run. Unbelievable talent, just left to cook. No matter how much I might want to hate Bill Simmons, that he created Grantland will outweigh any lame ass shit he lets escape his mouth.
> whichever goddamn of his 5 primes
It's outrageous how good LeBron's career and sustained skill level was that we can say something hyperbolic like "5 primes" and it actually be well within the realm of reason for him.
2007-2010
2012-2014
2016-2018
2020
2022-2023… dude averaged 30-8-6.5 over those two seasons. Is it a prime?
Probably not.
I think all of the first 4 are comparable in some way to each other and all MVP level performances. But 22-23 his defense was plain worse than the primes.
For context, over the last 3 seasons, Lebron has averaged 28/8/7 on 52/36/76 splits. That's starting the year his position on BasketballReference changed from PG to C. And that's *non-prime* Lebron.
Size/strength and footwork. It’s that simple. Tall enough so that most defenders contests don’t really affect the shot. Big enough to bump and bang to create space or get an advantage. Footwork to maneuver around multiple defenders and stay on balance.
People really miss how important strength/weight is.
James Harden/Luka are relatively quick, but if they ever get even a quarter step, they have the strength and body control to keep you from ever recovering.
They'll talk about putting a guy on your back (or"in jail") when attacking a PnR, but the stronger you are the less space you need to create to put someone "in jail".
He might be the best in the league, and one of the best ever, at protecting his dribble and shielding his defender behind him. That left arm is deadly and Luka knows exactly how to gain position and put you on his back every time he gets the ball. It’s why he can force doubles at will because he often just takes his PoA defender out of the game.
It's strongly correlated to what you said, but he has a really deep bag that clearly helps a lot. When you can do 2-3 different things for every spot very effectively, that makes it extremely difficult for defenders. The more options you have per situation in terms of moves you can make, it gets exponentially harder for defenders and even for coaches to strategize against - and Luka has a deep, deep bag for every spot filled with tough shots that he can make consistently
I remember someone once asked Luka about the deceleration and why not many guys use it as effectively as him and he was basically like “idk my teammates ask how I do it and I just say do a slow step but they can’t figure it out”
It’s a super underrated part of athleticism that’s not directly connected to how fast you run or how high you jump.
It's also extreme agility & hand-eye coordination.
Luka & Harden are able to decelerate/accelerate at micro speeds/micro angles.
And since they can fade away or drive from any angle, it's impossible to predict.
It's beautiful & kind of like the basketball version of throwing knuckleballs/eephus pitches.
And how no matter how bad his defense is, he’ll still be able to stop a 6’8” dude’s post up. His strength, and inspector gadget arms, make him like a mini Chuck Hayes down there.
And by mini I mean like an inch shorter.
That looked like his spikes dug in and turned his knee a bit funny. I don't think it was pure deceleration, his spikes 100% played a part. Of course, baseball players would get way more hurt if they didn't wear the spikes. Just a freak thing.
I think it comes down to rhythm and balance. If you have a good rhythm and you know what the other person is going to do, then you can time your moves perfectly so that you're always a step ahead. That's how Muhammad Ali was able to "rope a dope" George Foreman. His rhythm was flawless. Some of that is trainable, but some of it is just genetics. You need a good nervous system and brain stem to be that coordinated.
There's levels to the nba. There's a reason guys like lebron, luka, sga etc standout. Most things can be taught, but those top level guys just got it. I recall someone asking jokic how his passes are so accurate and he said something to the effect of "idk I just do it" lol
>“Guys coming from high school have trouble with help-side defence,” Shelton said. “Kawhi made a comment to coach Hutson, who was the defensive coach at the time, and he was like, ‘I don’t get it, coach. Why can’t they just stay in front of their man like I do? Like, why do I have to play help side?’ That was his only comment I ever heard him make about defence: ‘They should just be able to stay in front of their man like I do.’”
https://basketballforever.com/2019/06/05/kawhi-leonard-struggled-to-understand-why-his-college-teammates-werent-as-good-as-him
Coach LeBron: *"Just fucking jump and dunk the fucking ball!!! It's not that hard!! What?!? You didn't see the shooter open??! Just pass the ball to the other end through a couple defenders you jackass!! It's not that hard!!"*
> I recall someone asking jokic how his passes are so accurate and he said something to the effect of "idk I just do it" lol
This is one of my favorite joker responses cos it was in an interview and he literally couldn’t describe it other than “I’ve always just been able to look at where something goes and then when I throw or chuck, it goes to that exact spot I looked at or meant for it to go. 🤷”
It’s like asking how Steph makes 3s so easily. He just shoots it like any other player, it just goes in more. You cant really explain muscle memory to someone else. Try explaining something you got good at to your past self who just started. You just tell him to practice because that’s really there is to it.
Steph shoots very differently to most players with a one motion shot compared to the common two motion shots. He’s not the only player that does it but he has uniquely mastered it.
https://youtu.be/4OH7xJjb7Tc
> Steph shoots very differently to most players with a one motion shot compared to the common two motion shots.
Lol pretty much everyone shoots one-motion now, been that way since liek 2015
Few shoot one motion with as much leverage as he does. It’s like a catapult, it’s a big part of his range.
Other deep range bombers like Lillard or Clark do it through leg power mainly.
Which is hilarious to me because my high school coaches would absolutely not play anyone with a one motion shot. In practice, we'd always scrimmage starters versus bench, and the bench would almost always win because we were shooting mostly threes coming off screens, while the starters were mostly getting "good" midrange shots. The difference was even more extreme for us than the NBA because we'd play 1s and 2s instead of 2s and 3s. But this even happened in multiple games where the starters would fall behind and the bench would come back by shooting 3s, but still our primary game plan was based on getting tall guys a lightly contested ten footer.
Steph does not shoot like any other player. That dude’s handle is so good because he basically can go to his shot from whatever angle and he shoots it very fast.
But ofc he’s also way more accurate than other players. He’s just that good. I mean even in golf isnt he good(relatively)?
Yeah Steph also most of the time only flicks his arm up and then drops his arm down the second the ball releases. It’s hard af to have a super consistent shot when you don’t hold the extended arm ever
Dude is just a freak
The annoying part is when people want to "be like Steph" but they skip all the steps and jump right into taking shots they have no place attempting. People really don't appreciate the journey that it took to be able to do all of that. If you compare his rookie season to now, his game has changed so much. He used to take closer shots and drove to the rim more. If he never hurt his ankles he'd still be dunking.
You gotta go back even farther than that. He had to completely rebuild his shot when he was a teenager. I think it got so bad that he thought about quitting basketball at one point.
Not even relatively good, he's extremely good. He's a plus handicap, meaning he has to give shots to par. Out of amateurs, he's probably in the top 0.5% of players.
It's easier to understand how to get better at 3 point shooting: a shit ton of practice. Obviously, that won't turn you into Steph, but it's certainly how Steph turned into Steph. Even for stuff like contested shots, wild off-balance shots, and developing a super-quick release: those are all things you can practice by pretending there is a defender, or with an assistant coach playing that role.
In contrast, elite passing and court vision seems a bit different to me because it seems like you would really need other guys running around the court to effectively practice what it's like to find the open man and laser a precise pass to him. (Maybe this is where Luka's Overwatch training comes in, lol.) The physical part may be "muscle memory" but passes are always slightly different, whereas every 3 pointer is an attempt to do something exactly the same way as before, or as close as possible to it.
You can practice passing. For example I see PGs practicing passing off screens in their workouts a lot.
Court vision is more about basketball IQ, which you get the same as obtaining any other knowledge.
A lot of passes the greats make are them throwing to where guys should be as well. Which is why you see them (great passers) angry at teammates when they themselves throw it out of bounds, bc usually they made the right read.
I think it just seems different bc the average basketball fan hasn’t tried to practice/improve those skills vs just shooting around and getting better at shooting
Why don’t other wide receivers just run around the field willy nilly with seemingly no planned route and constantly use change of pace to get wide open like Antonio Brown?
Shit’s hard
It's one of those things that is just hard to teach. You're right about it being a sneaky bit of being athletic.
After watching Gobert fucking be a horror on offense, the ability to catch the ball is another. Catching the ball is such a routine thing most people don't think about, but if Gobert could just catch tough/weird passes with regularity the dude would be looked at way differently.
His handles are also tight. He can navigate the smallest of spaces for the P&R. I think this surprised the Wolves a lot. They thought they had a handle on this type of play against the Nuggets but Luka is a demon near the rim.
Also his passing is ELITE. Do you double, or you live with him getting his teammates involved?
Luka make you pick a poison, add in kyrie playing off the ball and can basically do the same shit.
Like them Pamper commercials with the blowout barrier, either way its **shit** lol.
Yeah that's what I've noticed about him. He can weave through defenders and keep his dribble low and stay in control. He uses his big fat body well to shield the ball and just mosey into the paint.
It’s also why the Mavs were a great matchup against OKC. Elite handles/offensive execution is always gonna be kryptonite to a defense that relys on turnovers.
Was so annoying seeing the wolves foul him with reaches. Like “wtf are you doing?!” He’s big af with tight handle and a great exaggerator/whiner. 9 times out of 10 you’re not touching that ball and instead he’ll draw the foul. Too easy.
That’s part of it particularly when he already has you beat but he doesnt really fully commit to any initial move
He’s so tough because he has so many layered counters
He drove left? You have to fully commit to getting in front because if he gets you on his hip you’ve already lost due to his strength.
You managed to beat him to the angle so he cant turn the corner? Good job, all your momentum is heading one way and he just took a huge step back.
Oh shit! Step back? You somehow recover and fully close out as he’s rising to shoot? Wait, it was an up fake???? He’s driving right now???
Shit! He now has the angle and you’re stuck on his left hip. Even if you somehow manage fight back in front he’ll either stop on a dime to draw a foul or he’ll step back to his right for a comfortable mid range while you put all your momentum to get back in front.
Also he could simply crossover on the initial drive like he did Gobert.
He just has a deep bag and all of his stuff works together. And if you put a smaller quicker guy with the agility to react to all of this he simply overpowers them towards the rim or posts up.
The wide thing is under-discussed I feel. ridiculously broad shoulders and long arms, and an elite handle. It makes protecting the ball so much easier, which allows him the time and mental bandwidth to survey the floor and make the best pass.
They deceleration is crazy, especially at his size. The bigger you are the harder that is.
Like seriously, try running then changing to going backward. It’s hard, and Luka does it very quickly while maintaining his dribble or going into a shooting motion.
Yeah bro... When you are that tall and have top notch dribble. There's nothing much the defender can do. His passing threat also makes the defender more cautious to just close him.
Ironically they are probably the two best guys on the planet at the hang dribble. And they couldn’t utilize it more differently. For Ky, that’s how he loves to initiate his iso’s because his ability to pull up in your face must be respected so that literal split second of hesitation created by the hang dribble and you’re BBQ chicken.
Luka on the other hand uses it primarily once he gets in the lane off a PnR especially if he’s got someone pinned in jail. His hang dribble from there is even more deadly because it’s literally a triple threat position with a live dribble—he could rise and shoot, throw a lob/kick out/clownin pass, or continue driving the lane. Again, it’s a split second but you freeze or commit in that instant and you too are cooked.
He actually moves very quickly it just looks slow. He might not move around as quickly as Kyrie but his hesis, crosses and whatnot are quick and abrupt enough to throw people off. And he's really good at reading his defender, you can't bite on anything or he'll punish you. It's pure skill
I think so much of this is size based too. At 6' 7" he can cover so much more ground than a typical 6' 2" guard can so one step has him traveling a farther distance, and then his step back is longer, his shot fake feels even more like a real shot because the ball is going up more, etc. All his movements are just ever so much more exaggerated and then the defender is scrambling to cover and as soon as you lean too far or take one extra step or leave your feet you're completely cooked.
Look at his shot against Gobert. He doesn't do *that* much, but his legs get so far apart that in a still frame you'd think he was sprinting toward the baseline. Gobert just turns his body to follow him towards the lane, then it's stepback city and ballgame.
He is probably the best ever in delaying his decision until the last moment, if that makes sense. He waits for the defence to give him something and then decides based on that. So often you will see him go up for a shot, defenders automatically turn to the basket to prepare for a rebound, and then he just passes it to the corner in the last moment.
Same goes for the fakes, it isnt the defender that is faked out, he just reacts based on what you do. If you jump forward he will fake, if you dont he will shoot.
On top, watch his eyes during slow replays. No look passes are not something just to be flashy, he is literally moving defenders with his eyes towards the corner or towards the rim.
Damn that's such a great point, you had me going through 30 min of Luka film on YT to watch. Very enjoyable and yes, it's incredible how he does it. The same way a top tier NFL QB looks off DBs with his eyes before throwing. Devastating if it can be pulled off at scale, which obviously Luka can. No words man.
He’s got some prime peyton manning in him. Breaking defenses. Reinventing offense. Mastering the craft. The suttleness of it all. Controlling the game with your eyes
Him and Jokic are the only guys I’ve seen consistently manipulate defenders like that outside of Bird and Magic. Everyone else will look straight at the dude then look away as if it faked anyone lol
Prime Kidd has no equal imo. His passing and ability to move the defense with his eyes was unreal. Even more so when you consider what a poor shooter he was. Now you have Luka with similar passing skill set and unbelievable shooting
I think jokic is right up there as well in this specific skillset, so I wouldn't say it's not even a question question. The gap after those two is pretty big though
Joker is definitely more predictive because he knows what the defense should be doing, so if they defend like their game plan says then his offensive decision should lead to an open shot because he’s intentionally exploiting their scheme.
Yeah they are two different players. It’s like asking who would you rather have, MJ/kobe/lebron or Kareem/wilt/bill Russel/hakeem
Depending on the team makeup and cap space I’d take Luka or Joker. Obviously I’m biased towards Luka but no one should blame anyone for wanting Joker over Luka and vice versa.
You really cant better skillwise than those two. I give Jokic slightly better playmaking tho while I give Luka better ball handling which makes sense since Luka is a guard.
Like even that MJ/Kobe mentality he might be the one who has it and not even ANT, like Luka is just crazy, anything he wants to do on the court he can do it.
He just didn’t had a great team around him the last years to make it where he is now. Finally the Mavs were able to build a good team around him with players that help him
Exactly. Why the fuck hasn’t this gained more traction.
Everyone calling ANT the next MJ when the real heir apparent is busy cursing out the entire stadium while putting up insane numbers
Yeah people watching him play don’t realize some of the subtleties. He’s so fucking big that just putting his arm out there generates a ton of space. Late career harden/Pierce are a perfect example
Rockets harden was a bit slimmer and quicker imo and didn’t generate as much space by just angling his body
Plus Luka’s insane court vision makes it so you can slip off your man even a bit to cover his angle bc he’ll hit your man
The one point you make that isn’t seen a lot is the acceleration. He doesn’t seem fast, but he’s actually extremely quick to create space. The slow doesn’t work unless you can burst.
I think a lot of people look at him and just assume he's not quick and that makes him relatively quicker than they're expecting. You don't need to be the fastest guy, just faster than the defender is at stopping what you want to do.
It's not just that. All the player tracking wizards say he's actually *elite* at changing direction/speed. He doesn't run fast, but his ability to change direction/speed faster than the player guarding him helps him create space.
Oddly enough, one of his biggest celebrity supporters, Mahomes has something similar. Apparently he's faster running while turning than he is in a straight line, which explains some of his ass pull escapes from the pocket. And his change of direction testing was similarly elite for his position at the NFL combine iirc.
That, and his handle is so good, and he’s so big, he only needs like a 1/5 of a step in front of you, and that’s all it takes. You’re not getting back in front of him, and you’re not stealing it either.
For players faster and more athletic, he uses their athleticism against them. Every athletic defender believes they'll beat Luka to any spot (which is probably true), but Luka know that. He sells his moves so well defenders think he's going a certain direction, so when the react, he stops changes directions and gets by via the space the defender created by moving on the first move.
For players, smaller and lighter than him, this is just more brute force. He literally bullies them to move in any direction he wants them to.
For smaller players he likes to put them at his hip while he's dribbling. He knows they can't get around him or aren't long enough. Then you see the double from where he's dribbling and he either shoots it or passes it out.
I feel like J Dub gave him some issues for a bit until he figured out our defense and knew he would have an oop to a big or PJ in the corner, what killed us was their role players actually hitting their shots
Prime Ben Simmons has been the only guy so far who's been able to shut down Luka with relative success. It's the only combination of tools and athleticism that works. But it's also a very rare combo to find
The benefit of being slower than everyone else is you get to commit to something later than them.
Seriously, though, he sells everything with his entire body and has enough control over himself and the ball to opt out of something at the last moment if the defender reacts. The defender can't just "not react" because then Luka just does the thing he's "faking" and it's no longer a fake, right? That's why he ends up dancing with the best defenders, they're reacting very quickly but with discipline and he's just using more moves to gain the advantage he needs.
i feel like jokic is like this too. he broadcasts every move he is about to make and moves in slow motion. it’s a mind game for his defenders because he could very well go in for that obvious layup or do something completely unexpected like a sideways pass across the court, or just nail a 3 pointer with that freakish caveman shot. as a defender you have no choice but to do the dance with him.
Sometimes the defender doesn’t react at all to him. Those are the funniest because to a random observer, it looks like Luka just slowly jogs to the basket and lays it in and somehow nobody can stop it
He uses accels and deccels perfectly. He waits until a defender’s momentum is going the opposite way before moving. Playing slower allows him to notice things like defenders momentum and stance etc and then exploit it. Once he has a 1/2 step on you, you can’t recover due to his frame size and strength and his excellent understanding of how to use it.
He has the handles and jump shot to make all of this work. It sounds easy and simple but its not. The combination of his size and handle is rarest part for me, most men his size simply dont have it on a string like he does which allows him to manipulate defenders positions and then use his body. Just a lethal combo
I think it’s important to remember that Luka looks a lot slower on television than he is, based on his sheer size. He’s built like a normal person, so when he moves, it looks like it’s in slow motion. Then you realize he’s actually 6-8, 250 lbs. He’s not actually slow.
He has a really tight handle paired with a good first step/ability to understand the space that needs to be attacked and with how big and strong he is, after he get to his spot its pretty hard to get him off it/ get back into a good defensive position.
Luka is bigger and stronger than most guards, so he can push them around to get to his sweet spots, and shoot over smaller guys. He also just has a really good understanding of tempo, timing, and angles, so he can find the small windows to get open or put guys in jail on his hip when defenders take 1 wrong step or lag behind just a beat.
It's like how Dirk's fadeaway used his height and his knee to make it impossible for defenders to contest. Except for Luka, he's using his hip, his positioning, and his screener to prevent the defender from contesting.
Strength, amazing footwork, top tier shooter, excellent decision making, great court vision . He only needs the tiniest window to drain a shot because of his raw shooting ability and he knows how to use his body and footwork to get it, plus because of that shooting its hard to not respect his pump fake even though you know hes gonna do itAlso has a knack for knowing how to get under your best players skin .
Just watch his game winner on Gobert is slow motion. He mattered when to dribble. Each of his moves were made when Rudy was mid-stride and unable to change direction.
Everyone has perfectly covered the things he does so well, but it all starts (this is the same with Jokić, Lebron) with elite, almost uncanny court mapping ability. Those 3 play very differently with 3 distinct body types, but they share an off the charts IQ for understanding every single thing happening on the basketball court at all times. Not just what they’re trying to do, but how all 5 defenders must react based on what look they give, where all 4 teammates are but more importantly where they’ll BE based on the defense, then processing all that changing information continuously and nearly subconsciously.
Because his mind works so much faster than everyone else, that allows him to play slower. He’s not unathletic whatsoever, he’s simply not freakishly athletic or ever gonna be capable of throwing down a slam like Ant in Game 4 or anything Lebron could do. But if you know where you’re going, and how to react to every single coverage, you can overcome an athletic deficit by knowing when to move faster than your opponent (if I’m 100x slower than you but you’re flat footed and I know it, I only have to be faster than you at that exact moment).
Now you add in what everyone else has said. Ability to score at all three levels, and hit literally any type of shot—but particularly the step back or fadeaway middy. Best passer ever potential. Unprecedented eye manipulation. Accel/Decel that’s as good as anybody in history. A feel for the game and knowing when he needs to hit shots vs get others going. Size/strength to handle literally every defender in the league. On and on.
Finally, he was bred for this. He’s been a professional since 13. He dominated grown ass men in the 2nd best league at 18. And most important of all, he’s an absolute fucking psychopath. We just witnessed him (for the second time which is absurd) singlehandedly end a series in the first 10 minutes on the road. He didn’t just beat MIN/PHX—he crushed their souls from the jump because he’s a cold-blooded killer. Especially if he’s provoked. He’s one of the most savage shit talkers in the league which was on full display vs MIN but he’s always looking for the slightest thing to get him going.
Add it all up, and you’ve got an unguardable, unschemable player who can manipulate every single person in the half court without taking a single shot. Then you add in elite shot making and now you see why 29+ other coaches have been absolutely flummoxed by Luka for 6 years now.
strong
very smart
extremely good deceleration ability
and most importantly, he makes contested shots consistently. That makes defenders over-commit his move.
He already did that to Kawhi in the Bubble. To Mavs Fans this is absolutely no surprise. Every other fan base overestimates their defender, because they locked up Jordan Poole once or twice.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clippers fan slander Luka cus they actually watched those first couple of series vs the mavs and saw Luka absolutely cooking and saw how little he was working with at the time
McDaniels gives up like 45 pounds to Luka, that was his problem. Luka just put him on his back and negated his length. With how big Luka is, he never is bothered on shots, even with someone as long as McDaniels.
Really no one in the league that can stop Luka when he's shooting halfway decently. Very LeBron like with his impact on the offensive end. I think heavier/stronger players are a better bet against him rather than length, at least can prevent him from backing into the paint or low post so easily.
All his moves and counters flow naturally. It's not predetermined. If you block what's he's doing he's going to react. In other words, he waits for a defender to make the tiniest of mistakes and then gets past him
Dude is 6’7 230 pounds, good handles, and amazing shot making ability. The only place where is speed defeats him is on defense, but offensive wise Luka has mastered the game with his big body
If I were Boston, I’d ask my fans not to trash talk Luka, that seems to really fuel that dude, the more they trash talk the more he becomes almost superhuman on the court
He understands spacing, he has a deadly step back, if you get on the wrong side of him he knows how to get an angle and once he has an angle he is so large you can’t get back in front. He also runs more pick and rolls than like. Anyone
He’s a savant. Top 1% of the 1%. Shoots over his head - always has his base and balance. And he’s wide - great at initiating contact - bounce and separate. Comes from growing up playing against bigger older players Learned early how to separate in traffic.
Gonna be good for a long time. He’ll probably break scoring record if he wants to.
His shooting has become elite. Give him space and he'll just step back. Hound him and he'll just spin from the defender and put him in "jail"-probably his signature move or just use his strength and width to put the defender on his hip. It's over once the defender is on his hip. No other choice but to double him.
He's actually quicker than he looks and uses it for alot of change of pacing to throw the defender off, making it easier to lure then to fakes. Like he's slow for a while, suddenly speeds up just to slow down again, etc.
The “requisite speed” part is kinda silly too. He’s functionally quick, gets around guys all the time that he should theoretically have no business running past at all if he’s as slow as people act like he is.
It's a great question (it totally stumped me and half of NBA front offices during Luka's draft) and the truth is that there are very very few people who can do what luka does at his speed. Essentially what going on is Luka's shot making and passing forces defenders to be hypervigilant. If he's making contested shots then every shot fake will get a reaction. He's also very patient with the ball off of screens, waiting until the very last second to choose between the shot and the pass/lob. There's also an art to timing up your defender's feet that Luka has mastered. As a ball handler, if you can wait for your defender to be in between steps before committing, you'll end up with an extra couple feet of space on step backs or drives. When done right, the defender will often find themselves scrambling to make up the space, which, once again, offers the ballhandler the opportunity to exploit them with a fake. Its not easy stuff, but Luka has it down.
I forgot which former NBA player who said it (Gilbert Arenas maybe?) but he was asked this same question. In full court, athleticism takes over - see Giannis and LeBron. In half court, fundamental basketball takes over. Athleticism and speed plays second stage to fundamental basketball. Reason why the Spurs were a dynasty with Duncan and Ginobili.
Luka has been working on his fundamentals since age 11. He has been playing against grown ups since 14. His fundamentals are the best in the game, well maybe second to Jokic.
He’s big, he’s strong, and he was playing with adults when he was a teenager. That professional/elite/winners mindset is a scary thing. He also has years of playoff experience and is a winner IMO
If you can make highly contested shots, your fakes will be effective.
Even a normal contested shot as long as he makes it quite often would be enough
This is really what’s at the heart of it. If you’ve ever played basketball against someone that can really hit their step backs, it’s ALWAYS on your mind that they’re going into that move. There are guys that are really good at selling a move with their body and then changing course immediately. The combination of that (defenders preoccupation with him launching a shot + his ability to sell + his ability to change course) means that it just doesn’t matter how fast he is because the defender is off balance and out of position.
Luka carefully picks his moment when defender lost focus for split second and then he makes his moves.
He reads eyes and posture really well, for sure
You forgot he’s bigger or heavier or stronger or quicker or more skilled than whoever he’s going up against. At that point it doesn’t matter if you’re faster because there isn’t enough room positionally to take advantage of that. Luka is the definition of understanding position and using his weight and size, and whatever thing he can leverage to his advantage. Literally an opposite universe version of LeBron IMO
I think Lebron can actually do both. Use his size or speed depending on his defender.
Yeah - LeBron and Luka both have the passing gene, the incredible size and strength, and off the charts basketball IQ. The differences are really that Luka is a much better shooter than LeBron was at the same age, and LeBron is the most athletic 6’8”+ player I’ve ever seen (and a much better defender)
Yeah I'd sooner say opposite of Iverson or prime CP3 for example
his footwork is a huge part of it. speed is useless if you stumble over yourself. also given that you know where U are going (and Ur opponent doesn't) your first step should be faster than Ur opponents regardless of speed. luka uses his first step really well and from their the defenders are playing from behind.
He becomes like a magnet with the step back, which he uses the threat of to force the player to be a little closer. Or he just does the stepback motion and they come up. If they don’t that’s a wide open 3. If they do, then he goes to the hoop. If you keep up, he bumps you and/or jails you. If you fall behind, he goes for the layup or bank/floater/push shot if the big steps up. Alternatively there are also open teammates potentially through all of that motion, enabling those passing lanes and cutting opportunities. Ok now add Kyrie on the other side.
It's like Arjen Robben going left in football. People saying 'you know he will go lefz why do you let him' because it's like 100 instances in every possession when he COULD go left. You can expect it but still cant react to it well enough.
Yeah, I'd agree. It's a body language thing when you're guarding. If you're good at reading the person's body language, you can figure out what to do. But Luka is a tricky bastard. He has enough tools in his belt to be able to keep you hesitant all the time. Jokic isn't that much different. He's not quick, but it seems like he always has a million options at his fingertips.
Step backs and fadeaways really do fuck with defenders. Way more than normal shots. Especially if you shit talk, after you sink one in their grill.
ugh. it's fadeaways with me. you can't guard a fadeaway unless you're about 3-4 inches taller than the guy. If you're shorter, forget it. The best you can do is make him uncomfortable and not let him get where he wants to get on the court. But once he's there and he's committed, then that's it. The worst part about it is usually I feel like I've played great defense. I turn around, and swish, nothing I could have done better. My teammates will look at me and shrug, say "great defense". yeah i know, but he still made it. fuck my life.
Hearing “better luck next time” from behind you post swish makes it way worse
That's that Tim Duncan trash talk right there.
Tim Duncan ahh line [“nice try”](https://youtu.be/z2Y8eaFH8AY?si=exHHPh1WnNOeI01L)
Almost
“ Almost” gotta drive you insane
> you can’t guard a fadeaway unless you’re about 3-4 inches taller than the guy. If you’re shorter, forget it. I have PTSD from all the fadeaways my buddy has hit in my face when we play 1 on 1. He’s 4 inches taller than me, and there’s nothing I can do unless I completely sell out for it, and if you leave your feet early, you’re boned.
And this is why fadeaways will forever be my favorite shot make. You can do nothing but shake the man’s hand. It’s a beautiful shot that is extremely difficult to perform.
I miss Dirk...
Adding that Drik leg kick out move makes it even harder.
2 points isn’t 2 points, I’ll explain later
And even more so if you insult some random rich guy sitting on the front row with his son with an observation about their mother / grandmother just because they thought it might be fun to heckle you.
Not just that but he can also hit insane passes, so defenders have to be thinking too much about contesting the shot, if they will get faked, or if it's a disguised pass. This can either mean they are slow to react or are too jumpy to react
He has an uncanny ability to get his guys going and engaged on both ends of the floor. He will pass a shot if a better momentum play is there for his teammates. Passing skills might be a higher level than his shooting which is wild to think about.
I will die on a hill that Luka is a better passer than Jokic
The difference between Luka and Jokic is that Jokic is stationary and passes to moving teammates, Luka is moving and passing to stationary teammates. It looks like prettier basketball for jokic, like he’s getting his teammates more involved, but the effect is the same
He is because he’s a much better ball handler and has greater movement and angles. Jokic comes with the “best passing big” *
This is the reason. The reason people fall for every fake is because at any given moment he can do ANYTHING. That takes such a mental capacity for a defender and means they’re lagging behind by 0.5 seconds at all times
3-level scorer that is also an elite playmaker with every pass in his arsenal basically makes him an impossible assignment on defense If his stepback 3 (which is probably the worst shot you can force him to take) is falling, forget about it.
Reminds me of prime LeBron where there was just nothing you could do to stop him from getting a shot he can probably hit off or getting the ball out to a teammate. Dude would Houdini the fuck out of a triple team while pinned along the baseline and find Mario Chalmers waiting wide open on the other end of the court with enough time to check the wind before lighting one
Yeah the early era of LeBron, whichever goddamn of his 5 primes, in which people basically had to hope his jumpshot wasn't landing and defend him similar to how folks have to defend Giannis and that he's never gotten a good whistle for freethrows. Grantland did a fantastic article on LeBron learning in Miami how to get to his ideal spots to shoot, drive or pass. Luka has his spots but his offensive versatility means he's essentially dangerous with the ball anywhere on the court, including his range to send oops to teammates already near the basket. Defending Luka means having to consider every option and with fantastic perimeter defence at best you might 'force' him into stepbacks on a day when his three isn't falling. And now it seems even trying to go at him when he's defending and hoping to wear his legs out isn't as effective as it used to be.
I miss Grantland. The Ringer articles just aren’t the same
Nothing but books stands up to what Grantland produced in their run. Unbelievable talent, just left to cook. No matter how much I might want to hate Bill Simmons, that he created Grantland will outweigh any lame ass shit he lets escape his mouth.
Simmons is an absolutely phenomenal writer himself. I think it’s a damn shame doesn’t do it anymore.
> whichever goddamn of his 5 primes It's outrageous how good LeBron's career and sustained skill level was that we can say something hyperbolic like "5 primes" and it actually be well within the realm of reason for him.
2007-2010 2012-2014 2016-2018 2020 2022-2023… dude averaged 30-8-6.5 over those two seasons. Is it a prime? Probably not. I think all of the first 4 are comparable in some way to each other and all MVP level performances. But 22-23 his defense was plain worse than the primes.
Yeah what a bum only having 4 primes smh
For context, over the last 3 seasons, Lebron has averaged 28/8/7 on 52/36/76 splits. That's starting the year his position on BasketballReference changed from PG to C. And that's *non-prime* Lebron.
Size/strength and footwork. It’s that simple. Tall enough so that most defenders contests don’t really affect the shot. Big enough to bump and bang to create space or get an advantage. Footwork to maneuver around multiple defenders and stay on balance.
People really miss how important strength/weight is. James Harden/Luka are relatively quick, but if they ever get even a quarter step, they have the strength and body control to keep you from ever recovering.
They'll talk about putting a guy on your back (or"in jail") when attacking a PnR, but the stronger you are the less space you need to create to put someone "in jail".
I feel like his high release shot form, although not as crazy as Jokic’s, also contributes to him hitting these highly contested shots.
Cam Payne scribbles in his note book.
He might be the best in the league, and one of the best ever, at protecting his dribble and shielding his defender behind him. That left arm is deadly and Luka knows exactly how to gain position and put you on his back every time he gets the ball. It’s why he can force doubles at will because he often just takes his PoA defender out of the game.
Yeah, he can get anywhere he wants. A fake in the paint is pretty compelling. He can basically walk to the hoop. It is kind of crazy.
It's strongly correlated to what you said, but he has a really deep bag that clearly helps a lot. When you can do 2-3 different things for every spot very effectively, that makes it extremely difficult for defenders. The more options you have per situation in terms of moves you can make, it gets exponentially harder for defenders and even for coaches to strategize against - and Luka has a deep, deep bag for every spot filled with tough shots that he can make consistently
Also, timing beats speed. I learned that the hard way boxing.
Yup. They'll bite because the shot is effective. It's like he's throwing a change-up.
He’s big, He is very strong, has elite deceleration like harden, and hits a lot of tough shots. Its an extremely tough combo.
I remember someone once asked Luka about the deceleration and why not many guys use it as effectively as him and he was basically like “idk my teammates ask how I do it and I just say do a slow step but they can’t figure it out” It’s a super underrated part of athleticism that’s not directly connected to how fast you run or how high you jump.
His core strength is very strong.
It's also extreme agility & hand-eye coordination. Luka & Harden are able to decelerate/accelerate at micro speeds/micro angles. And since they can fade away or drive from any angle, it's impossible to predict. It's beautiful & kind of like the basketball version of throwing knuckleballs/eephus pitches.
Harden also has great core strength its why he goes to looking fat so easily.
And how no matter how bad his defense is, he’ll still be able to stop a 6’8” dude’s post up. His strength, and inspector gadget arms, make him like a mini Chuck Hayes down there. And by mini I mean like an inch shorter.
Speaking of baseball, Acuna's elite deceleration probably attributed to his season ending injury.
That looked like his spikes dug in and turned his knee a bit funny. I don't think it was pure deceleration, his spikes 100% played a part. Of course, baseball players would get way more hurt if they didn't wear the spikes. Just a freak thing.
Now he's really decelerated.
I always thought the hook shot/skyhook was the knuckleball, but that works too
I think it comes down to rhythm and balance. If you have a good rhythm and you know what the other person is going to do, then you can time your moves perfectly so that you're always a step ahead. That's how Muhammad Ali was able to "rope a dope" George Foreman. His rhythm was flawless. Some of that is trainable, but some of it is just genetics. You need a good nervous system and brain stem to be that coordinated.
HE’S FAT!
There's levels to the nba. There's a reason guys like lebron, luka, sga etc standout. Most things can be taught, but those top level guys just got it. I recall someone asking jokic how his passes are so accurate and he said something to the effect of "idk I just do it" lol
>“Guys coming from high school have trouble with help-side defence,” Shelton said. “Kawhi made a comment to coach Hutson, who was the defensive coach at the time, and he was like, ‘I don’t get it, coach. Why can’t they just stay in front of their man like I do? Like, why do I have to play help side?’ That was his only comment I ever heard him make about defence: ‘They should just be able to stay in front of their man like I do.’” https://basketballforever.com/2019/06/05/kawhi-leonard-struggled-to-understand-why-his-college-teammates-werent-as-good-as-him
So many perfect illustrations of why elite players are often bad coaches.
Same goes for GOAT football player Thierry Henry. He simply could not understand why players cant strike a ball like him or beat a man.
it's interesting when advice/ instructions can't be formalized or abstracted from the act of the person doing it who is trying to explain it.
Coach LeBron: *"Just fucking jump and dunk the fucking ball!!! It's not that hard!! What?!? You didn't see the shooter open??! Just pass the ball to the other end through a couple defenders you jackass!! It's not that hard!!"*
"why don't the other players simply stay in front of their assignments at all times. Are they stupid?"
I guess all those people online who say skill issue were actually correct
> I recall someone asking jokic how his passes are so accurate and he said something to the effect of "idk I just do it" lol This is one of my favorite joker responses cos it was in an interview and he literally couldn’t describe it other than “I’ve always just been able to look at where something goes and then when I throw or chuck, it goes to that exact spot I looked at or meant for it to go. 🤷”
It’s like asking how Steph makes 3s so easily. He just shoots it like any other player, it just goes in more. You cant really explain muscle memory to someone else. Try explaining something you got good at to your past self who just started. You just tell him to practice because that’s really there is to it.
Steph shoots very differently to most players with a one motion shot compared to the common two motion shots. He’s not the only player that does it but he has uniquely mastered it. https://youtu.be/4OH7xJjb7Tc
> Steph shoots very differently to most players with a one motion shot compared to the common two motion shots. Lol pretty much everyone shoots one-motion now, been that way since liek 2015
Few shoot one motion with as much leverage as he does. It’s like a catapult, it’s a big part of his range. Other deep range bombers like Lillard or Clark do it through leg power mainly.
Tatum don't luka doesn't often
Tatum got a 3 motion shot
Which is hilarious to me because my high school coaches would absolutely not play anyone with a one motion shot. In practice, we'd always scrimmage starters versus bench, and the bench would almost always win because we were shooting mostly threes coming off screens, while the starters were mostly getting "good" midrange shots. The difference was even more extreme for us than the NBA because we'd play 1s and 2s instead of 2s and 3s. But this even happened in multiple games where the starters would fall behind and the bench would come back by shooting 3s, but still our primary game plan was based on getting tall guys a lightly contested ten footer.
Steph does not shoot like any other player. That dude’s handle is so good because he basically can go to his shot from whatever angle and he shoots it very fast. But ofc he’s also way more accurate than other players. He’s just that good. I mean even in golf isnt he good(relatively)?
Yeah Steph also most of the time only flicks his arm up and then drops his arm down the second the ball releases. It’s hard af to have a super consistent shot when you don’t hold the extended arm ever Dude is just a freak
He won some amateur/celeb golf tournament a few years back I think, he’s def pretty good
He won it last year, but isn't defending his title because he'll be at the Olympic camp while it's on.
The annoying part is when people want to "be like Steph" but they skip all the steps and jump right into taking shots they have no place attempting. People really don't appreciate the journey that it took to be able to do all of that. If you compare his rookie season to now, his game has changed so much. He used to take closer shots and drove to the rim more. If he never hurt his ankles he'd still be dunking.
You gotta go back even farther than that. He had to completely rebuild his shot when he was a teenager. I think it got so bad that he thought about quitting basketball at one point.
Not even relatively good, he's extremely good. He's a plus handicap, meaning he has to give shots to par. Out of amateurs, he's probably in the top 0.5% of players.
It's easier to understand how to get better at 3 point shooting: a shit ton of practice. Obviously, that won't turn you into Steph, but it's certainly how Steph turned into Steph. Even for stuff like contested shots, wild off-balance shots, and developing a super-quick release: those are all things you can practice by pretending there is a defender, or with an assistant coach playing that role. In contrast, elite passing and court vision seems a bit different to me because it seems like you would really need other guys running around the court to effectively practice what it's like to find the open man and laser a precise pass to him. (Maybe this is where Luka's Overwatch training comes in, lol.) The physical part may be "muscle memory" but passes are always slightly different, whereas every 3 pointer is an attempt to do something exactly the same way as before, or as close as possible to it.
You can practice passing. For example I see PGs practicing passing off screens in their workouts a lot. Court vision is more about basketball IQ, which you get the same as obtaining any other knowledge. A lot of passes the greats make are them throwing to where guys should be as well. Which is why you see them (great passers) angry at teammates when they themselves throw it out of bounds, bc usually they made the right read. I think it just seems different bc the average basketball fan hasn’t tried to practice/improve those skills vs just shooting around and getting better at shooting
He has one of the most unique to him releases in the sport imo, it’s lightning fast, and super low.
Yes. Body control. He can slow down or stop at any time. It uses people’s speed against themselves. Like a Greg Maddox change up.
Why don’t other wide receivers just run around the field willy nilly with seemingly no planned route and constantly use change of pace to get wide open like Antonio Brown? Shit’s hard
It's one of those things that is just hard to teach. You're right about it being a sneaky bit of being athletic. After watching Gobert fucking be a horror on offense, the ability to catch the ball is another. Catching the ball is such a routine thing most people don't think about, but if Gobert could just catch tough/weird passes with regularity the dude would be looked at way differently.
I guess if they do it they just travel or turn the ball over because they can’t find the pass or shot quick enough during the slow step
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And a genuinely explosive first step, that’s why he broke ankles
His handles are also tight. He can navigate the smallest of spaces for the P&R. I think this surprised the Wolves a lot. They thought they had a handle on this type of play against the Nuggets but Luka is a demon near the rim.
Also his passing is ELITE. Do you double, or you live with him getting his teammates involved? Luka make you pick a poison, add in kyrie playing off the ball and can basically do the same shit. Like them Pamper commercials with the blowout barrier, either way its **shit** lol.
Haha did you also recently watch a show on Prime? That commercial comes on every 15 minutes.
Yeah that's what I've noticed about him. He can weave through defenders and keep his dribble low and stay in control. He uses his big fat body well to shield the ball and just mosey into the paint.
It’s also why the Mavs were a great matchup against OKC. Elite handles/offensive execution is always gonna be kryptonite to a defense that relys on turnovers.
Agreed. He gave us fits in the smallest of spaces and decelerates really well. It's a very tough and unorthodox style of ball handling to defend.
Was so annoying seeing the wolves foul him with reaches. Like “wtf are you doing?!” He’s big af with tight handle and a great exaggerator/whiner. 9 times out of 10 you’re not touching that ball and instead he’ll draw the foul. Too easy.
Turns out being big was a strategy and we need to quit taking about his weight. That’s my mvp!!!
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That’s part of it particularly when he already has you beat but he doesnt really fully commit to any initial move He’s so tough because he has so many layered counters He drove left? You have to fully commit to getting in front because if he gets you on his hip you’ve already lost due to his strength. You managed to beat him to the angle so he cant turn the corner? Good job, all your momentum is heading one way and he just took a huge step back. Oh shit! Step back? You somehow recover and fully close out as he’s rising to shoot? Wait, it was an up fake???? He’s driving right now??? Shit! He now has the angle and you’re stuck on his left hip. Even if you somehow manage fight back in front he’ll either stop on a dime to draw a foul or he’ll step back to his right for a comfortable mid range while you put all your momentum to get back in front. Also he could simply crossover on the initial drive like he did Gobert. He just has a deep bag and all of his stuff works together. And if you put a smaller quicker guy with the agility to react to all of this he simply overpowers them towards the rim or posts up.
Big and wide. You can’t really recover against him because he walls with his body so well.
The wide thing is under-discussed I feel. ridiculously broad shoulders and long arms, and an elite handle. It makes protecting the ball so much easier, which allows him the time and mental bandwidth to survey the floor and make the best pass.
They deceleration is crazy, especially at his size. The bigger you are the harder that is. Like seriously, try running then changing to going backward. It’s hard, and Luka does it very quickly while maintaining his dribble or going into a shooting motion.
He's also got a super tight handle. Not flashy like Kyrie but it's in the 1% of the league
Yeah bro... When you are that tall and have top notch dribble. There's nothing much the defender can do. His passing threat also makes the defender more cautious to just close him.
He's so big too he covers a lot of ground with each step. A lil hesi, dribble move slow step and you're on his back
Not enough people talk about his size, dude has handle and a shot but can use the height to shoot over people and get them to bite on more
Ironically they are probably the two best guys on the planet at the hang dribble. And they couldn’t utilize it more differently. For Ky, that’s how he loves to initiate his iso’s because his ability to pull up in your face must be respected so that literal split second of hesitation created by the hang dribble and you’re BBQ chicken. Luka on the other hand uses it primarily once he gets in the lane off a PnR especially if he’s got someone pinned in jail. His hang dribble from there is even more deadly because it’s literally a triple threat position with a live dribble—he could rise and shoot, throw a lob/kick out/clownin pass, or continue driving the lane. Again, it’s a split second but you freeze or commit in that instant and you too are cooked.
This is it. Crazy had to scroll a few comments down for it. His tight ball control and how functional it is what forces separation/reaction.
He actually moves very quickly it just looks slow. He might not move around as quickly as Kyrie but his hesis, crosses and whatnot are quick and abrupt enough to throw people off. And he's really good at reading his defender, you can't bite on anything or he'll punish you. It's pure skill
I think so much of this is size based too. At 6' 7" he can cover so much more ground than a typical 6' 2" guard can so one step has him traveling a farther distance, and then his step back is longer, his shot fake feels even more like a real shot because the ball is going up more, etc. All his movements are just ever so much more exaggerated and then the defender is scrambling to cover and as soon as you lean too far or take one extra step or leave your feet you're completely cooked. Look at his shot against Gobert. He doesn't do *that* much, but his legs get so far apart that in a still frame you'd think he was sprinting toward the baseline. Gobert just turns his body to follow him towards the lane, then it's stepback city and ballgame.
Plus you need to close out a lot tighter to contest a 6’7 players shot than a 6’2s
He is probably the best ever in delaying his decision until the last moment, if that makes sense. He waits for the defence to give him something and then decides based on that. So often you will see him go up for a shot, defenders automatically turn to the basket to prepare for a rebound, and then he just passes it to the corner in the last moment. Same goes for the fakes, it isnt the defender that is faked out, he just reacts based on what you do. If you jump forward he will fake, if you dont he will shoot.
On top, watch his eyes during slow replays. No look passes are not something just to be flashy, he is literally moving defenders with his eyes towards the corner or towards the rim.
Damn that's such a great point, you had me going through 30 min of Luka film on YT to watch. Very enjoyable and yes, it's incredible how he does it. The same way a top tier NFL QB looks off DBs with his eyes before throwing. Devastating if it can be pulled off at scale, which obviously Luka can. No words man.
He’s got some prime peyton manning in him. Breaking defenses. Reinventing offense. Mastering the craft. The suttleness of it all. Controlling the game with your eyes
Him and Jokic are the only guys I’ve seen consistently manipulate defenders like that outside of Bird and Magic. Everyone else will look straight at the dude then look away as if it faked anyone lol
100%. I think it's what makes him the best lob passer ever.
His coach might be the only one better
Prime Kidd has no equal imo. His passing and ability to move the defense with his eyes was unreal. Even more so when you consider what a poor shooter he was. Now you have Luka with similar passing skill set and unbelievable shooting
He’s actually the best in the league. It’s not even a question
I think jokic is right up there as well in this specific skillset, so I wouldn't say it's not even a question question. The gap after those two is pretty big though
I always feel like Jokic is more calculated and Luka is more spontaneous
Joker is definitely more predictive because he knows what the defense should be doing, so if they defend like their game plan says then his offensive decision should lead to an open shot because he’s intentionally exploiting their scheme.
Yeah they are two different players. It’s like asking who would you rather have, MJ/kobe/lebron or Kareem/wilt/bill Russel/hakeem Depending on the team makeup and cap space I’d take Luka or Joker. Obviously I’m biased towards Luka but no one should blame anyone for wanting Joker over Luka and vice versa.
You really cant better skillwise than those two. I give Jokic slightly better playmaking tho while I give Luka better ball handling which makes sense since Luka is a guard.
I've been saying this for two years and I don't watch nearly enough basketball. Glad to see people coming around to it
Like even that MJ/Kobe mentality he might be the one who has it and not even ANT, like Luka is just crazy, anything he wants to do on the court he can do it.
He just didn’t had a great team around him the last years to make it where he is now. Finally the Mavs were able to build a good team around him with players that help him
Exactly. Why the fuck hasn’t this gained more traction. Everyone calling ANT the next MJ when the real heir apparent is busy cursing out the entire stadium while putting up insane numbers
Yeah 👍 this sums it up well. I think his basketball iq is also very very high … he maybe even sees all in slow motion 😂
He's got that Teppei right of postponement from Kuroko
this dude trading options while everyone else trading stocks
He leverages his body. He uses angles very well to get advantages. It’s the same way Paul Pierce use to play.
Pierce is a great example damn. Very strong player who just used a change of pace and brute strength to beat most defenders up
People need to make this comparison more often. He's like a mixture of harden and paul Pierce
Harden/ Pierce combination is exactly how he plays.
He must love strip clubs then
Yeah people watching him play don’t realize some of the subtleties. He’s so fucking big that just putting his arm out there generates a ton of space. Late career harden/Pierce are a perfect example Rockets harden was a bit slimmer and quicker imo and didn’t generate as much space by just angling his body Plus Luka’s insane court vision makes it so you can slip off your man even a bit to cover his angle bc he’ll hit your man
Strength and acceleration/deceleration. It’s all very similar to Harden although his first step was quicker.
The one point you make that isn’t seen a lot is the acceleration. He doesn’t seem fast, but he’s actually extremely quick to create space. The slow doesn’t work unless you can burst.
I think a lot of people look at him and just assume he's not quick and that makes him relatively quicker than they're expecting. You don't need to be the fastest guy, just faster than the defender is at stopping what you want to do.
It's not just that. All the player tracking wizards say he's actually *elite* at changing direction/speed. He doesn't run fast, but his ability to change direction/speed faster than the player guarding him helps him create space.
Oddly enough, one of his biggest celebrity supporters, Mahomes has something similar. Apparently he's faster running while turning than he is in a straight line, which explains some of his ass pull escapes from the pocket. And his change of direction testing was similarly elite for his position at the NFL combine iirc.
That, and his handle is so good, and he’s so big, he only needs like a 1/5 of a step in front of you, and that’s all it takes. You’re not getting back in front of him, and you’re not stealing it either.
Harden has lost a step now but he could attack the rim and have his way back when he was on the rockets.
I got bored one day and looked up Harden’s tape from his first few years in Houston. He was legitimately fast from 2012-15.
He was explosive.
For players faster and more athletic, he uses their athleticism against them. Every athletic defender believes they'll beat Luka to any spot (which is probably true), but Luka know that. He sells his moves so well defenders think he's going a certain direction, so when the react, he stops changes directions and gets by via the space the defender created by moving on the first move. For players, smaller and lighter than him, this is just more brute force. He literally bullies them to move in any direction he wants them to.
For smaller players he likes to put them at his hip while he's dribbling. He knows they can't get around him or aren't long enough. Then you see the double from where he's dribbling and he either shoots it or passes it out.
What about a guy like j dub who is smaller but has crazy reach
I feel like J Dub gave him some issues for a bit until he figured out our defense and knew he would have an oop to a big or PJ in the corner, what killed us was their role players actually hitting their shots
He’s not long enough. Most teams you reach around someone you’ll foul unless they suck at ball handling
Funnily enough, Ben Simmons might be the best candidate to defend Luka straight up
Prime Ben Simmons has been the only guy so far who's been able to shut down Luka with relative success. It's the only combination of tools and athleticism that works. But it's also a very rare combo to find
Nice try Mazzulla
The benefit of being slower than everyone else is you get to commit to something later than them. Seriously, though, he sells everything with his entire body and has enough control over himself and the ball to opt out of something at the last moment if the defender reacts. The defender can't just "not react" because then Luka just does the thing he's "faking" and it's no longer a fake, right? That's why he ends up dancing with the best defenders, they're reacting very quickly but with discipline and he's just using more moves to gain the advantage he needs.
It’s funny but all the “white athletic guy” phrases apply to him in earnest.
Certified NOT a gym rat
i feel like jokic is like this too. he broadcasts every move he is about to make and moves in slow motion. it’s a mind game for his defenders because he could very well go in for that obvious layup or do something completely unexpected like a sideways pass across the court, or just nail a 3 pointer with that freakish caveman shot. as a defender you have no choice but to do the dance with him.
Sometimes the defender doesn’t react at all to him. Those are the funniest because to a random observer, it looks like Luka just slowly jogs to the basket and lays it in and somehow nobody can stop it
He uses accels and deccels perfectly. He waits until a defender’s momentum is going the opposite way before moving. Playing slower allows him to notice things like defenders momentum and stance etc and then exploit it. Once he has a 1/2 step on you, you can’t recover due to his frame size and strength and his excellent understanding of how to use it. He has the handles and jump shot to make all of this work. It sounds easy and simple but its not. The combination of his size and handle is rarest part for me, most men his size simply dont have it on a string like he does which allows him to manipulate defenders positions and then use his body. Just a lethal combo
Yeah it’s easy to forget just how well he handles the ball. It’s amazing.
I think it’s important to remember that Luka looks a lot slower on television than he is, based on his sheer size. He’s built like a normal person, so when he moves, it looks like it’s in slow motion. Then you realize he’s actually 6-8, 250 lbs. He’s not actually slow.
He has a really tight handle paired with a good first step/ability to understand the space that needs to be attacked and with how big and strong he is, after he get to his spot its pretty hard to get him off it/ get back into a good defensive position.
Spencer Dinwiddie said that Luka is quicker than people think and he’s got the best deceleration in the league.
Luka is bigger and stronger than most guards, so he can push them around to get to his sweet spots, and shoot over smaller guys. He also just has a really good understanding of tempo, timing, and angles, so he can find the small windows to get open or put guys in jail on his hip when defenders take 1 wrong step or lag behind just a beat. It's like how Dirk's fadeaway used his height and his knee to make it impossible for defenders to contest. Except for Luka, he's using his hip, his positioning, and his screener to prevent the defender from contesting.
Strength, amazing footwork, top tier shooter, excellent decision making, great court vision . He only needs the tiniest window to drain a shot because of his raw shooting ability and he knows how to use his body and footwork to get it, plus because of that shooting its hard to not respect his pump fake even though you know hes gonna do itAlso has a knack for knowing how to get under your best players skin .
Just watch his game winner on Gobert is slow motion. He mattered when to dribble. Each of his moves were made when Rudy was mid-stride and unable to change direction.
That boy can ball, thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
Everyone has perfectly covered the things he does so well, but it all starts (this is the same with Jokić, Lebron) with elite, almost uncanny court mapping ability. Those 3 play very differently with 3 distinct body types, but they share an off the charts IQ for understanding every single thing happening on the basketball court at all times. Not just what they’re trying to do, but how all 5 defenders must react based on what look they give, where all 4 teammates are but more importantly where they’ll BE based on the defense, then processing all that changing information continuously and nearly subconsciously. Because his mind works so much faster than everyone else, that allows him to play slower. He’s not unathletic whatsoever, he’s simply not freakishly athletic or ever gonna be capable of throwing down a slam like Ant in Game 4 or anything Lebron could do. But if you know where you’re going, and how to react to every single coverage, you can overcome an athletic deficit by knowing when to move faster than your opponent (if I’m 100x slower than you but you’re flat footed and I know it, I only have to be faster than you at that exact moment). Now you add in what everyone else has said. Ability to score at all three levels, and hit literally any type of shot—but particularly the step back or fadeaway middy. Best passer ever potential. Unprecedented eye manipulation. Accel/Decel that’s as good as anybody in history. A feel for the game and knowing when he needs to hit shots vs get others going. Size/strength to handle literally every defender in the league. On and on. Finally, he was bred for this. He’s been a professional since 13. He dominated grown ass men in the 2nd best league at 18. And most important of all, he’s an absolute fucking psychopath. We just witnessed him (for the second time which is absurd) singlehandedly end a series in the first 10 minutes on the road. He didn’t just beat MIN/PHX—he crushed their souls from the jump because he’s a cold-blooded killer. Especially if he’s provoked. He’s one of the most savage shit talkers in the league which was on full display vs MIN but he’s always looking for the slightest thing to get him going. Add it all up, and you’ve got an unguardable, unschemable player who can manipulate every single person in the half court without taking a single shot. Then you add in elite shot making and now you see why 29+ other coaches have been absolutely flummoxed by Luka for 6 years now.
it's not dissimilar from kawhi or brunson. they all know how to get to their spots + luka is elite at drawing fouls
He’s so shifty even though he’s not the fastest. And once he gets you on his hip, it’s over because he’s so strong
strong very smart extremely good deceleration ability and most importantly, he makes contested shots consistently. That makes defenders over-commit his move.
Just want to say I know it’s obviously not as easily done as I portrayed I just like everyone else I feel , don’t get how he does it so consistently
He made Jaden mcdaniels look like a g league defender. He did whatever he wanted to with him. Mcdaniels is a elite on defense
He already did that to Kawhi in the Bubble. To Mavs Fans this is absolutely no surprise. Every other fan base overestimates their defender, because they locked up Jordan Poole once or twice.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clippers fan slander Luka cus they actually watched those first couple of series vs the mavs and saw Luka absolutely cooking and saw how little he was working with at the time
McDaniels gives up like 45 pounds to Luka, that was his problem. Luka just put him on his back and negated his length. With how big Luka is, he never is bothered on shots, even with someone as long as McDaniels. Really no one in the league that can stop Luka when he's shooting halfway decently. Very LeBron like with his impact on the offensive end. I think heavier/stronger players are a better bet against him rather than length, at least can prevent him from backing into the paint or low post so easily.
He reads the game at a ridiculously fast level.
All his moves and counters flow naturally. It's not predetermined. If you block what's he's doing he's going to react. In other words, he waits for a defender to make the tiniest of mistakes and then gets past him
Dude is 6’7 230 pounds, good handles, and amazing shot making ability. The only place where is speed defeats him is on defense, but offensive wise Luka has mastered the game with his big body
If I were Boston, I’d ask my fans not to trash talk Luka, that seems to really fuel that dude, the more they trash talk the more he becomes almost superhuman on the court
You’re underselling how dense and strong he is for someone at his position. It’s the main reason he can do what he does.
He understands spacing, he has a deadly step back, if you get on the wrong side of him he knows how to get an angle and once he has an angle he is so large you can’t get back in front. He also runs more pick and rolls than like. Anyone
He’s a savant. Top 1% of the 1%. Shoots over his head - always has his base and balance. And he’s wide - great at initiating contact - bounce and separate. Comes from growing up playing against bigger older players Learned early how to separate in traffic. Gonna be good for a long time. He’ll probably break scoring record if he wants to.
His shooting has become elite. Give him space and he'll just step back. Hound him and he'll just spin from the defender and put him in "jail"-probably his signature move or just use his strength and width to put the defender on his hip. It's over once the defender is on his hip. No other choice but to double him.
He's actually quicker than he looks and uses it for alot of change of pacing to throw the defender off, making it easier to lure then to fakes. Like he's slow for a while, suddenly speeds up just to slow down again, etc.
The “requisite speed” part is kinda silly too. He’s functionally quick, gets around guys all the time that he should theoretically have no business running past at all if he’s as slow as people act like he is.
He’s ridiculously fundamentally sound and I’m shocked more people aren’t saying this
It's a great question (it totally stumped me and half of NBA front offices during Luka's draft) and the truth is that there are very very few people who can do what luka does at his speed. Essentially what going on is Luka's shot making and passing forces defenders to be hypervigilant. If he's making contested shots then every shot fake will get a reaction. He's also very patient with the ball off of screens, waiting until the very last second to choose between the shot and the pass/lob. There's also an art to timing up your defender's feet that Luka has mastered. As a ball handler, if you can wait for your defender to be in between steps before committing, you'll end up with an extra couple feet of space on step backs or drives. When done right, the defender will often find themselves scrambling to make up the space, which, once again, offers the ballhandler the opportunity to exploit them with a fake. Its not easy stuff, but Luka has it down.
Luka is 6’7 with a 7’2 wingspan. Ant is 6’4 with a 6’9 wingspan. You don’t need to be fast if you’re big and know the angles to get to your spot.
I forgot which former NBA player who said it (Gilbert Arenas maybe?) but he was asked this same question. In full court, athleticism takes over - see Giannis and LeBron. In half court, fundamental basketball takes over. Athleticism and speed plays second stage to fundamental basketball. Reason why the Spurs were a dynasty with Duncan and Ginobili. Luka has been working on his fundamentals since age 11. He has been playing against grown ups since 14. His fundamentals are the best in the game, well maybe second to Jokic.
He’s big, he’s strong, and he was playing with adults when he was a teenager. That professional/elite/winners mindset is a scary thing. He also has years of playoff experience and is a winner IMO