Zion Williamson vs Luka Doncic

[Nike D'Antoni]

Who do you prefer? This thread shall be revisited down 5 - 10 years.

[Axe]

I feel like zion will become injury prone again down the line.

[Full Court]

Raw skill, Luka is better. Zion looks like a better contributor to wins so far.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Williamson dunking on people is more entertaining but he has to show he can stay healthy and will have to contribute in a major way beyond just scoring to be at Doncic level. Really Doncic has a large edge even in just scoring, I think Williamson could average 30 but would his body hold up if he tried to dominate at that level in a daily basis?

[Axe]

Williamson dunking on people is more entertaining but he has to show he can stay healthy and will have to contribute in a major way beyond just scoring to be at Doncic level. Really Doncic has a large edge even in just scoring, I think Williamson could average 30 but would his body hold up if he tried to dominate at that level in a daily basis?

Yea, somehow reminds of shaq with that heft he has albeit shorter. Unlike embiid or giannis who are obviously more skinnier.

[FultzNationRISE]

N.O. have the personnel to take more of a committee approach and allow Zion to be more of a finisher. He’s not in an “everything starts with him” role like Lebron, Luka, Giannis. So we might not get to see what his individual production ceiling is, but at the same time the Pelicans might have the highest team ceiling of anyone because of it.

[Lee]

Luka Doncic is more of a James Harden to me, He has a usage rate of 37-38 % this season & last one. You don't win with that style.
https://www.basketball-reference.com...ct_season.html
Just like Westbrook also. Although you can see Kobe & Jordan there, it was in seasons they failed miserably on a team level. And they had to modify their game.

Jordan on Phil Jackson. “I wasn’t a Phil Jackson fan when he first came in,” Jordan said. “Because he was coming in to take the ball out of my hands. Doug put the ball in my hands.”

Kobe on harden “I’m not a fan of- in terms of winning championships- I don’t think that style is ever going to win championships,”

Luka has to do the same. He needs the coach to make him do so as well. Or else he is heading in the Harden-Westbrook direction with his cancerous style.


For now, Zion contributes more to team basketball.

[dirkdiggler41]

Luka Doncic is more of a James Harden to me, He has a usage rate of 37-38 % this season & last one. You don't win with that style.
https://www.basketball-reference.com...ct_season.html
Just like Westbrook also. Although you can see Kobe & Jordan there, it was in seasons they failed miserably on a team level. And they had to modify their game.

Jordan on Phil Jackson. “I wasn’t a Phil Jackson fan when he first came in,” Jordan said. “Because he was coming in to take the ball out of my hands. Doug put the ball in my hands.”

Kobe on harden “I’m not a fan of- in terms of winning championships- I don’t think that style is ever going to win championships,”

Luka has to do the same. He needs the coach to make him do so as well. Or else he is heading in the Harden-Westbrook direction with his cancerous style.


For now, Zion contributes more to team basketball.

You clearly don't watch a lot of Luka basketball if he reminds you of James Harden (I assume Houston-Harden). James did 3 things, drove to the basket, drove to the basket and passed it to an open shooter or shot a 3-pointer. To compare, in the 19-20 season, Harden took 20 mid-range shots. Doncic got 80 so far this season. Also, Luka leads the league in post-ups or post-up points (don't remember which one) I can't ever remember Harden posting up. And last, Luka's passing is more team originated as far as I remember Harden. Go watch the games, please.

By the way, Giannis got 37 usage, Luka got 37, Embiid 37, Ja got 34. I would not be surprised if one of them won a championship this season, even with high usage.

[Nike D'Antoni]

Luka Doncic has a 2-0 record versus Zion Williamson in his career.

[RRR3]

Zion will be better if he stays healthy.

[Phoenix]

Could be a case brewing of better floor raiser( Luka) vs ceiling raiser( Zion) but we need to see Luka with a team actually capable of truly contending. Luka is obviously going to have more eye-popping stats because he has a 'do everything' role on the Mavs. Zion definitely needs to develop an outside shot to complement his forays to the rim, and his rebounding is subpar for his athleticism. It's not even a case of lacking size because he's pretty much the same height as Luka but exponentially more explosize/athletic. People keep dropping the Barkley comparison but Charles was grabbing 12-14 boards a night in a big man era.

[nayte]

I'm iffy on this one. Luka is the better floor general but is that gonna win more.
Zion has goat level athletism and can drive and finish with the best while playing off the ball
Not sure which style has won more rings but I'ma go with zion

[Phoenix]

I'm iffy on this one. Luka is the better floor general but is that gonna win more.
Zion has goat level athletism and can drive and finish with the best while playing off the ball
Not sure which style has won more rings but I'ma go with zion

Based on what we've seen, you can probably slot Zion onto any team and he'll fit. Luka is more of a 'he is the system' player and if you give them equal talent, he will probably take the team to a better record but the team will maximize when he has pieces around him that can allow him to play more off-ball and be a finisher. He wears out by the 4th because of how much he has to do based on the current roster.

[RRR3]

Could be a case brewing of better floor raiser( Luka) vs ceiling raiser( Zion) but we need to see Luka with a team actually capable of truly contending. Luka is obviously going to have more eye-popping stats because he has a 'do everything' role on the Mavs. Zion definitely needs to develop an outside shot to complement his forays to the rim, and his rebounding is subpar for his athleticism. It's not even a case of lacking size because he's pretty much the same height as Luka but exponentially more explosize/athletic. People keep dropping the Barkley comparison but Charles was grabbing 12-14 boards a night in a big man era.

He’s only 6’6, he’s a fine rebounder for his height. Barkley was GOAT level for his height you shouldn’t expect that.

[Phoenix]

He’s only 6’6, he’s a fine rebounder for his height. Barkley was GOAT level for his height you shouldn’t expect that.

I'm not expecting Barkley numbers, I brought up his name because people seem to defauit to him as a comparison but you're missing the entire rebounding aspect of his name when people say he's the 'modern' Barkley unless they're trying to draw the closest offensive comparison mixed with height/weight/girth etc. While Zion is 6'6, Luka is listed at 6'7 with a career 8.5rpg. There's no reason Zion shouldn't at least be averaging that granted, he's playing 32 minutes a night. I just think he's more than capable of 8-9 boards in the amount of time he plays, especially in a league with the bigs stretched outside the paint.