Luka Doncic receives bold NBA Cup prediction amid toughest road yet

NBA fans are counting down the days until the start of the 2024-25 season, and Dallas Mavericks fans can begin to plan what games they'd like to attend as Dallas' schedule was announced last week.

The Mavs start the season at home against the San Antonio Spurs, and there are several marquee matchups sprinkled in early on that includes Klay Thompson's return to the Bay on November 12.

Thompson's return to the Chase Center on November 12 also marks the first game of the NBA Cup for Dallas, and despite their group being extremely tough, all eyes are already on Luka Doncic and the Mavs.

Luka Doncic predicted to lead NBA Cup in scoring

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey made a handful of predictions ahead of the NBA Cup later this year, and one of these predictions is that Doncic will lead the NBA Cup in scoring. Doncic led the league in scoring last season, and Bailey believes his scoring prowess will be showcased on the highest level in the NBA Cup.

The biggest reason that Bailey believes Doncic will lead the NBA Cup in scoring is because of Group C's lack of elite perimeter defenders. Bailey dives into the only team that has multiple lockdown perimeter defenders is the New Orleans Pelicans with Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, and despite Group C being the group of death, Doncic is predicted to dominate offensively as he usually does.

Group C includes Dallas, New Orleans, Memphis, Golden State, and Denver, and regardless of who these teams throw at Doncic, he is still going to put on a show offensively. No one can truly fully shut down Doncic, and he is always at his best when the lights are brightest.

Doncic shows up in a big way in big games, and that's exactly what he is poised to do in the NBA Cup. He has plenty of experience playing in tournaments during the middle of the season, and this was another one of the reasons that Bailey gave for Doncic to dominate his competition.

Doncic will be coming for blood after a disappointing performance from the Mavs in the In-Season Tournament last year, and Bailey's official prediction is that he'll average about 35 points per game. For context, Doncic averaged 33.8 points per game in the In-Season Tournament last year, but that still didn't earn him the scoring title of the tournament. This placed him at fourth among players who played three or more games.

The Mavs may not be the favorite to win Group C at this juncture, but Doncic taking this tournament into his own hands could change everything quickly once the NBA Cup begins on November 12.