Slovenian guard Luka Doncic is starting to silence his doubters and critics. After his 60-point explosion against the Miami Heat on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers star received a public apology from retired NBA legend Lou Williams.
Williams, who previously argued that Doncic wasn’t deserving of an All-NBA First Team spot over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown, took to social media Thursday night to admit he was “wrong” about the Lakers star.
Luka Doncic Issued Apology
The three-time Sixth Man of the Year caught flak on Wednesday when he claimed Doncic was not having a better season than the aforementioned MVP candidates — despite his gaudy numbers for the Lakers.
“I don’t feel like he has outplayed SGA, Cade, or JB at this point of the season,” Williams said of Doncic on Fan Duel TV’s “Run it Back” on Wednesday.
“It just comes down simply to numbers to me. Not the impact that he’s had, not the way that he’s played and the way that he’s been able to put the Lakers back in the third seed. None of those things are of more importance than it just being a simple number game.”
Other analysts, such as Kendrick Perkins, have also questioned Doncic’s MVP case. Speaking on ESPN’s “First Take” earlier this week, Perkins explained why he was not voting for Doncic to make the All-NBA First Team.
“You have SGA, I have Jokic, I have Jaylen Brown, I have Cade Cunningham because [the Pistons] have the best record in the Eastern Conference, and I have Wemby [Victor Wembanyama],” said Perkins.
“[The Spurs] are second in the West. So Luka doesn’t make my First Team All-NBA. I would have him on my Second Team,” he added.
Luka Doncic, Lakers on Fire
With his 60-point explosion on Thursday, Doncic led the Lakers to their eighth straight win, helping the team tighten its stranglehold over the third seed in the West.
During the eight-game winning streak, Doncic has averaged a staggering 40.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.4 steals, 6.1 made threes and 0.9 blocks, while maintaining 50/42/78 shooting splits. Doncic has been so spectacular that he was showered with “MVP” chants from Miami fans on Thursday, which took him by surprise.
“It was pretty impressive, especially an away game in Miami,” Doncic said after the Lakers’ 134-126 victory, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“You hear the whole crowd chanting, ‘MVP,’ that’s what I think every player wants to hear. … I got a lot of goosebumps, so it was pretty special.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NBA Legend Apologizes to Lakers’ Luka Doncic After 60-Point Explosion appeared first on Heavy Sports.