Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas thinks Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will have a historic season. Arenas, 42, had a 12-year professional basketball career with the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, and Shanghai Sharks, but has become infamous for his hot takes following his retirement in 2013.
Arenas, who was born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Los Angeles, California, was selected with the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft out of Arizona. Gilbert’s hot takes are often aimed towards European NBA players, such as Luka Doncic, a Slovenian NBA player from Ljubljana, Slovenia. But this time, Arenas thinks Doncic, 25, will be just fine. Read on for more details.
Gilbert Arenas’ New Belief About Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic has been criticized by many folks so far this NBA offseason. But Gilbert Arenas had something nice to say about Doncic — that the Slovenian big man will have a historic season in 2024-25.
Arenas recently said in his “Gil’s Arena” show, “I’d be surprised if he don’t [average] a triple-double. If you [were] averaging that many assists with what you had, now you have a guy who’s a catch-and-shoot [in Klay Thompson], so some of your assists will come without any effort. You should average a triple-double. He will probably be the number one candidate for MVP. He’s gonna do something that hasn’t been done in a few years.”
Arenas’ comment was arguably fair, as Doncic can achieve many feats on the court.
Gilbert Arenas’ Previous Belief About Luka Doncic
Gilbert Arenas had something nice to say about Luka Doncic. But last month, Arenas slammed Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on “The OGs Podcast” and said that the Mavericks “can’t go small” with someone like Doncic.
Arenas said, “Like think of Magic Johnson with someone like Luka [Doncic] right? The ball is in his hands, he’s a bigger guard. You can’t go small with his talent. Going small hurts him. You can’t have Kyrie [Irving] at the two, Klay [Thompson] 6’7″ at the three, then you got 6’8′ at the four. That’s now how you win with this guy.”
At the time, Gilbert’s criticism of the Mavericks’ construction of a team around Doncic was arguably right, as Doncic’s supporting cast isn’t so strong.
Gilbert Arenas Might Be Right About Luka Doncic
Gilbert Arenas isn’t a perfect man and former player, but he might be right about Luka Doncic this time around. Doncic can average as many points as he did last season, even though this might not happen if Kyrie Irving stays healthy and Klay Thompson becomes a solid third scorer.
Russell Westbrook was the last player to average a triple-double. Westbrook accomplished the feat in four out of five years between 2016 and 2021. Westbrook won the MVP in the first season he averaged a triple-double. The only other player to accomplish this feat is Oscar Robertson. Robertson, 85, averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists in 1961-62.
Doncic might be able to achieve Westbrook’s and Robertson’s triple-double feats in the past, so we’ll see what happens this upcoming season.
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