Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic are four of the best young players in the league. Doncic, who turned 21 on Friday, and Tatum, who turns 22 on Tuesday, are the elder statesmen of the group.
But if you had to buy stock in one of them as the future face of the NBA, who would it be?
“This is a really tough one, but if I had to buy stock in any of those four that you gave me, I would go Luka – and it’s a slim edge over Zion,” Jared Greenberg said on The DA Show. “And the reason why I go Luka is just the health factor. Now listen, Luka has had a couple of ankle injuries, and now he’s dealing with a thumb injury. But I think the overall consensus on Zion around the league is if this guy’s healthy, he’s the next face of the league – and that’s a big if.”
Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, didn’t make his NBA debut until Jan. 22. He is averaging 24.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 15 games.
“He’s just missed, what, 60 percent of his first season in the NBA,” Greenberg said. “That’s a problem. We hope he gets himself in great shape, we hope that his knees are okay, and he’s got the best medical staff in the NBA around him. But what we know about Luka is he’s been able to stay heathy. He is not even in the best shape of his life yet. He came in basically just having played basketball year-round, because that’s what they do over in Europe. For him, there wasn’t as much attention paid to his body.”
Doncic, the No. 3 pick in the draft, is averaging 28.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists – all team-highs – for Dallas (37-24), which is currently the 7-seed in the West.
“I would take Luka,” Greenberg said. “If you have not watched Luka on a night-in, night-out basis, you are missing out on a special treat in the NBA.”