The Portland Trail Blazers are sitting on the couch this week as Luka Doncic plays in his first NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic was taken with the No. 3 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks (who traded the pick to the Dallas Mavericks) in the 2018 NBA Draft, and the decision for him to not go No. 1 over Deandre Ayton has been scrutinized.
But NBA insider Marc Stein may have taken that discourse to another level with his recent article on Doncic and the decision for teams not to choose him higher on draft night.
“And as put to me by one admiring rival executive, who has been marveling at Dončić’s play throughout these playoffs, watching intently as No. 77 repeatedly punishes defenses that are trying to wear him down: ‘Drafting Deandre Ayton over Luka Dončić might one day be as bad as Bowie over Jordan.’”
It’s been 40 years since the Blazers chose Sam Bowie with the No. 2 overall pick instead of Michael Jordan, who went No. 3 and emerged as the greatest player to ever play the game.
That sounds a bit hyperbolic, especially considering the Mavs haven’t won a Finals game with Doncic on the roster. That could change in a couple of days, but Doncic shouldn’t be compared to Jordan … yet.
And for that matter, Bowie shouldn’t be compared to Ayton, who has had a successful career, though not as fulfilling as Doncic’s.
Either way, it seems like the Blazers have really done a lot to upset this unnamed executive, because the two draft falls aren’t exactly comparable at this moment in time.