A Big Congratulations, Luka Doncic wins the NBA best player of the month… See more…
Luka Doncic took the time to prove to the NBA this year that he just happens to be one of the best ball handlers in the league.
After only one season with the Dallas Mavericks, Luka has a highlight tape that could second as a ball-handling instruction video, and that is just one tiny part of his very impressive game.
With it being #NBAHandlesWeek, it’s fitting that we talk about the Mavs point guard. One area of having good ball-handling is a good ball fake.
Getting your defender to jump or turn and open a small window for you to pass or shoot is a huge part of professional basketball. Not many people do it better than Luka Doncic.
A good ball fake is always fun, but a great ball fake makes for some of the best highlights in basketball. Here are the top 5 ball fakes from last year, according to the NBA.
So there is one noticeable issue I have with this list. Many of these moves are impressive and really difficult to do.
The No. 4 highlight in particular stuck out to me. D.J. Augustin put on a nice fake pass that sent Trae Young searching for a ball that hadn’t gone two feet. Augustin hit a nice turn around and got a top 5 spot in the order.
Another player had a ball fake just like that one that was pretty impressive.
Here is my issue. Augustin did this to Trae Young, one of the worst statistical defenders in the league last year. Doncic did it to Rudy Gobert, the two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year.
One of them is barely over 6’0″. The other is over 7’0″. Isn’t one of those slightly more impressive than the other?
And just for good measure, here is Jalen Brunson faking out Draymond Green, since it’s fun seeing Mavs rookies put Defensive Players of the Year on the highlight reel.
I know I am biased here, but I think it is safe to say that Luka’s ball fake against Gobert deserves some recognition in the top ball fakes of the year.
Maybe I am wrong about this one, but I really don’t think that I am. Hopefully we see a lot more Luka during Handles Week.
