Bill Simmons: Luka at age 20 is WAY BETTER than Lebron was. GOAT 20 Year old

[STATUTORY]

https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2019/11/20/20973697/a-full-fledged-luka-gasm-with-marc-stein-chadwick-boseman-black-panther-sports-movie-hall-of-fame
he ain't wrong

Luka is averaging more points, more rebounds, and more assists than Lebron at that same age. It ain't even CLOSE.

30/9/7
20 year old Luka is basically putting up PRIME Lebron numbers.

Luka is gonna erase Lebron from the record books :applause:

[BigTicket]

If Giannis and Luka could keep up their current PER for the whole season, they would be the #1 and #2 seasons all time: https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/per_season.html

Is that likely to happen ? No, it is not.

Luka has been absolutely amazing so far, and he is one of my favorite players in the league, but people are far too quick to jump to conclusions based on limited data.

[Lebron23]

Under 20 games into the season.

[warriorfan]

LD

[VeeCee15]

I don

[Lebron23]

I don’t know why you guys cannot read but LeBron has never put up 30/10/10 in any year. Lukas offensive stats, if he keeps it up, is better than prime LeBron.

Please go look at Lebrons career year by year numbers.

Lukas numbers would be even better but a couple of games Dallas was blowing out teams and he sat out only played 3 quarters
I doubt he can maintain those numbers in an 82 games. Some NBA teams are going to figure him out. And LeBron averaged 35/10/9 in the playoffs. With the cureent NBA players are no longer playing defense it won't surprise me if 15 years old like Emoni Bates can play in the NBA right now

[StrongLurk]

It's definitely possible that Luka ends up the best 20 year old. Granted, Doncic will be 21 soon and Lebron put up 31/7/7 at 21...Lebron also had a WORSE year as a 22 year old, so Luka really has a chance to be the best "young" player ever.

Exciting stuff...I like Luka a lot but he just looks so goofy sometimes.

Quick remember for OP that Luka is a Lebron stan...so OP would even become part of LeFam if it involves stanning a white player...who isn't even American.

[ImKobe]

I doubt he can maintain those numbers in an 82 games. Some NBA teams are going to figure him out. And LeBron averaged 35/10/9 in the playoffs. With the cureent NBA players are no longer playing defense it won't surprise me if 15 years old like Emoni Bates can play in the NBA right now

You're acting as if Luka is a rookie, he's putting up these numbers while mostly struggling from three and with KP missing a bunch of shots that could have been assists as well. Doncic dominated the Euroleague at 18, had one of the greatest rookie seasons and has improved his game and his body quite a bit coming into this season.

And since you're saying there's no defense and a 15 y.o could play in this era, I guess Lebron's averages are meaningless too when comparing to past greats like Jordan and Kobe.

[Kingwillball]

Couple things morons he won

[STATUTORY]

the difference between Lebron and Luka is that Lebron plays for stats and actively stad pads, while Luka puts up stats WITHOUT CARING about them at all

Luka only wants to WIN :applause:

[G0ATbe]

Very nice:applause: .Only suiting a guy that idolized and modeled his game after bron would do this. Granted theres still plenty of time for the numbers to drop. Next in line to surpass kobe

[Lebron23]

Very nice:applause: .Only suiting a guy that idolized and modeled his game after bron would do this.
A Kobe fan that I can actually respect. Iamkobe and statutory are a bunch of phags

[AlternativeAcc.]

What about Kobe at age 20?

:roll: :roll:

[Lebron23]

You're acting as if Luka is a rookie, he's putting up these numbers while mostly struggling from three and with KP missing a bunch of shots that could have been assists as well. Doncic dominated the Euroleague at 18, had one of the greatest rookie seasons and has improved his game and his body quite a bit coming into this season.

And since you're saying there's no defense and a 15 y.o could play in this era, I guess Lebron's averages are meaningless too when comparing to past greats like Jordan and Kobe.
Hey F@ggot LeBron won 4 mvp, 3 finals mvp, and 3 all star mvp in the "Kobe" Era.

[Lebron23]

What about Kobe at age 20?

:roll: :roll:
15.4 ppg. Lmao.

[LAmbruh]

What about Kobe at age 20?

:roll: :roll:
15.4 ppg. Lmao.

shit :roll: :roll: :roll:

[StrongLurk]

I LOVE how Luka is flipping ISH upside down, he is right now the ultimate fam changer.

Luka is clearly LeFam, but half of LeFam members see him somewhat as a threat while half the KobeFam is latching onto Luka because he is white...:lol

[Hey Yo]

What about Kobe at age 20?

:roll: :roll:
He was passing out towels and gatorade during timeouts.

[hiphopanonymous]

I don't even like LeBron, I really have enjoyed watching Luka this season

But Bill Simmons is a moron who doesn't know jack about basketball and I'm convinced of that.

The things players are doing in 2019, and 20 year old Luka is no exception, is a product of defense being banned. Is he better than LeBron at age 20? The numbers say yes. So it's possible. But to me, the rules of this era screams to call any and all performances into question. That's all I'll say on that. Players are unchallenged on the defensive end and the tempo is crazy. So he's playing as if it's open gym night. Whatever my thoughts are on LeBron, at least when he entered the league that wasn't the leagues climate.

[PP34Deuce]

LOL Bill Simmons has to stay relevant just like Skip and other media guys.

Luka is extremely skilled. Too early to cement his legacy.

[wang4three]

I don't even like LeBron, I really have enjoyed watching Luka this season

But Bill Simmons is a moron who doesn't know jack about basketball and I'm convinced of that.

The things players are doing in 2019, and 20 year old Luka is no exception, is a product of defense being banned. Is he better than LeBron at age 20? The numbers say yes. So it's possible. But to me, the rules of this era screams to call any and all performances into question. That's all I'll say on that. Players are unchallenged on the defensive end and the tempo is crazy. So he's playing as if it's open gym night. Whatever my thoughts are on LeBron, at least when he entered the league that wasn't the leagues climate.

Bill frequently says it's becoming harder and harder to compare eras, however, in the case he's using a combination of the eye test and stats to make this claim. I don't always believe everything Bill says, especially his Bostonhomerism and hatred for NY sports teams- which he admits to having strong biases for- but he's fairly articulate on points like these. Personally, I don't know if Luka is the greatest 20 year old ever, he'll have to sustain it a bit longer but he's definitely in the top 3 probably for sure.

[hiphopanonymous]

Bill frequently says it's becoming harder and harder to compare eras, however, in the case he's using a combination of the eye test and stats to make this claim. I don't always believe everything Bill says, especially his Bostonhomerism and hatred for NY sports teams- which he admits to having strong biases for- but he's fairly articulate on points like these. Personally, I don't know if Luka is the greatest 20 year old ever, he'll have to sustain it a bit longer but he's definitely in the top 3 probably for sure.
Bill is a nerd that can retain information but the way he discusses the sport you can tell he's not coming from a hands on experience background. The bias is one thing, but he's just not that smart at understanding the games X's and O's.

He knows names and stats. Doesn't know how to weigh the difference between a player that can get 3 points curling off a screen, or a 3 point spot up, or 3 points picking and popping, or how it would compare to a player who mostly shoots 3's in iso. He'll look at 4 players who get their points 4 very different ways and just crown the guy shooting the highest percentage as the best shooter vs the other guys likely taking way more difficult shots and deferring to lesser teammates to "keep them engaged" which pads their teammates stats but sacrifices their own. Bill fails to understand how players accumulate stats and I'm not sold that he understands what are effective ways to play the game. An example similar to this Luka and LeBron comparison would be he compared peak Wilt film from a 73 point game against the Knicks to something Dwight Howard would duplicate. I've also seen the film and it's the dumbest comparison I've ever seen being that Wilt shot several fall away jumpshots and displayed both a shot selection and a soft touch that Dwight has never displayed in his life. Dwight, when asked to create out of the post, is a 6-10 running hook shot shooter, and not a very good one. Basketball minds can break this stuff down but somehow he fails to grasp even basic player film-study comparisons like this.

The rules, the methods, the ability... it's all over Simmons head. Just like he's looking at Luka's stats and some highlights making deep shots, with easy dribble penetration, and some deft passes and thinking "wow he's making it look so easy... easier than LeBron made it look in 2004" ... well 2004 was a different league. The game is wide open right now. Many mid level offensive players are having outrageous offensive games due to how open the game is right now. Don't count on Bill to be able to understand the differences or why the game is even like this right now vs 2004.

Bill is the guy who sits next to you at applebees to watch the sports tvs and parrot what the other analysts are saying for their 7th grade education level audience. That bar talker quality actually works in his favor for selling his opinions and being relatable to the masses. But he flat out can't dissect the game.