Both Luka and Trae have taken the NBA by storm, with both of them being named All-Stars in only their second year in the NBA. Additionally, they were both starters for their respective conferences which is a tremendous honor.
Though both are extremely talented and have a bright future in the NBA, the debate over who is better has arisen ever since they were the finalists for the Rookie of the Year Award. Despite Luka walking away victorious with the award, the debate has grown even more popular with both of these players having breakout years.
That poses the question: Luka or Trae?
Firstly, Luka has a drastic advantage physically due to him standing at a staggering 6’ 7”, while Trae stands at 6’ 1”. This height advantage allows Luka to easily switch onto larger players on the opposing team, giving him extreme defensive versatility.
However, Trae is 6’ 1”, which is fairly small for NBA players. This smaller stature can make Trae a defensive liability at times due to him struggling to switch onto bigger players, unlike Luka. This also gives Luka an advantage offensively because he can overpower his smaller counterparts.
In addition, Luka seems to best Trae statistically as well. According to ESPN Luka has a career average of 24.4 pts, 7.1 ast, and 8.5 reb. Comparatively, Trae Young has a career average of 23.6 pts, 8.6 ast, and 3.9 reb. With Trae only doing slightly better than Luka in the assist category, Luka is more well rounded compared to Trae based on their career statistics.
Furthermore, Luka brings more of a winning mentality to the Mavericks compared to Trae. In Luka’s rookie year he led the Mavs to a 33-49 record while that same year, which was also Trae’s rookie year he led the Hawks to a 29-53 record.
In addition, before the stoppage of play due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Luka’s ability to win was more evident this year. Trae led the Hawks to a 20-47 record this year while Luka led the Mavs to a 40-27 record this year.
Therefore, due to Luka’s physical advantages, his impressive statistics, as well as his winning mentality, Luka Dončić is a better player than Trae Young right now. Nevertheless, both of these players have a bright future in the NBA.
Image: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
