Dallas Mavericks: ESPN predicts Luka Doncic as most likely first-time All-Star

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic landed as the most likely first-time All-Star in ESPN’s preseason predictions. Find out more here.

Dallas Mavericks point forward Luka Doncic was an instant hit in the NBA. He started and was the team’s leading scorer from opening night. Luka also made an impact on his fellow players. All-Stars from across the league were praising his game.

Doncic’s most significant impression may have been on the fans. His four seasons of professional basketball with Real Madrid made him popular in Europe. Luka’s breakout as a 19-year-old made him must-see here. That combination leads to him receiving over 4.2 million All-Star fan votes. Only LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo earned more.

Luka Doncic ultimately missed on being an All-Star because he finished eighth in the player vote and sixth in the media selection. Dallas Mavericks fans can be assured that he is planning on making the team for the first time in 2020.

Luka most likely

ESPN has been rolling out their preseason predictions. They have put out a myriad of topics so far.

One of the latest was their experts voting on the most likely first-time All-Star this season. Luka Doncic was selected 87 percent of the ballots. Experts were allowed to choose zero first-time All-Star as well. That is an astonishing number and by far the leader in the poll. Jayson Tatum was second receiving 68.2 percent of the vote for the Eastern Conference.

No easy task

Luka Doncic was classified as a Western Conference frontcourt player for the All-Star voting last season. Making the team among that group will be no easy task. The competition includes LeBron, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, LaMarcus Aldridge, and many other quality talents. New Maverick Kristaps Porzingis is another former All-Star joining the West frontcourt. Only six players will likely make it from that group.

Expect Doncic to take another leap forward and make the team, though. He could easily average over 23 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists per game during his second season. It will be a joy watching Luka ball.

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