NBA Draft: The Complete and Final 2018 Mock Draft
By Trey Flynn
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. G/F. 66. Real Madrid (Slovenia). Luka Doncic. 1. player
Height: 6’8″, Weight: 220, Age: 19
Statistics: 14.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.5 APG
I don’t know what it will take for NBA fans and media to take international players seriously (unless you’re Ben Simmons, I guess). I guess it will take a player like Doncic to change the game of basketball completely, which may be his mission.
Most NBA outlets are projecting Doncic as the 4th pick in the draft, and if you studied his tape, you’d realize you’re watching a highlight tape of a huge James Harden.
Essentially, a 6’8″ James Harden that can completely change the direction of any franchise that chooses to draft him – but we’ll act like him playing for Real Madrid somehow stunted his growth, typical NBA scouting.
If you can’t tell if Doncic is a future star or not, please go and watch a game of his online against grown adults in the second hardest basketball league in the world. ESPN making Doncic the 4th pick in the 2018 draft is just disrespectful, you can tell that from just looking at his scouting report above.
Doncic’s offensive prowess is obvious, but his defensive abilities are lacking which the NBA will catch him up really quickly, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Although, the Phoenix Suns could be one of the worst teams to choose for him – mainly because he can’t learn from any defensive experts on the team except maybe Tyson Chandler or Josh Jackson.
Essentially you’ll have a future star like Devin Booker shooting buckets with Luka Doncic, so this pick is a no brainer.
This future All-Star is going to have a bright future no matter where he goes, but it would be fun to see a back court of Booker and Doncic, taking turns of 40 point games (with some losses to go along with it).