The Warriors are currently facing the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals, and Golden State forward Draymond Green said playing against Luka Dončić is like facing LeBron James.
“It feels a lot like playing against LeBron, playing against Luka every possession,” Green said on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show.
Green drew various comparisons following his team’s Game 1 win over Dallas between the 23-year-old Slovenian and 37-year-old.
“One of the main, glaring similarities that stick out at you is how those two guys can manipulate a defense, how those two guys can control the pace of a game,” Green said. “At their size, with their passing ability and the way they can put pressure on the rim and pressure on the defense, and with the vision that they have, they’re a lot alike. There’s not many people in this league that can control a game or control a tempo and a pace of a game like that.”
Green noted that Dončić has said James was his favorite player growing up, so it makes sense to the Warriors star why Dončić would play similarly to the four-time NBA champion.
However, Green mentioned the two players’ differences, too, focusing on how Dončić typically looks to score before passing the ball.
“Where I think they differ is, LeBron will take more transition opportunities, where Luka kind of doesn’t, unless it’s just a complete run-out,” Green said. “I also think Luka, as great of a passer as he is, and he loves to pass the basketball, I think Luka looks for his shot a little bit more than LeBron.”
Game 2 between the Warriors and Mavericks takes place on Friday, May 20 at 9 p.m. ET.
