Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans and Luka of the Dallas Mavericks are the two best young stars in the NBA, but which one would be the better player to start a franchise?
If you polled NBA teams and asked who’d they prefer between Zion Williamson and Luka Doncic, you’d get 28 enthusiastic “Eithers” as answers. Zion is the budding face of the NBA for the New Orleans Pelicans and Luka is already one of the best point guards in the game.
In a recent Twitter poll, our friends at Hoops Habit asked the question, “if you are starting a franchise, who are you starting it with?”
The ESPN survey got us thinking. If you’re starting a franchise, who are you starting it with?
— HoopsHabit (@HoopsHabit) April 28, 2020
In final results, Luka finished with 75 percent of the vote, while Zion finished in a distant second with 14 percent.
We didn’t feel like this did justice to the New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie, so we decided to run our own poll and narrowed the field to just two.
Ok, let's do our own poll. Who would you rather start a franchise with?
— Pelican Debrief (@PelicanDebrief) April 28, 2020
While we admit that our poll is slightly biased in favor of Zion Williamson, it shows that opinions vary around the NBA community about which young player is best.
The fact is that you couldn’t go wrong with either of them. Both Doncic and Zion Williamson are the types of generational talents that all teams hope to get in the draft.
They both have skills that make them easy to build around, and seem to be likable, high-character guys who can be the face of a franchise.
There are 28 other teams in the league who wish they had either of them and a strong case can be made for either as the best franchise starter.
We made a case for both Doncic and Zion Williamson using stats and intangibles to come to a conclusion about which young player would be the best one start a franchise.
The Case for Luka Doncic
In just his second year in the league, Doncic is doing things we’ve rarely, if ever seen. He’s a triple-double machine who averages 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists, numbers that are even more insane when you consider he’s just 20 years old.
The Dallas Mavericks (40-27) were the 7th seed in the Western Conference with a good chance to climb higher, as Doncic was playing at a high level and bringing his team along with him.
There is really no argument that Doncic is currently the best young player in the NBA.
Here’s his case as the best franchise player.
Luka Plays one of the Most Important Positions
In the current NBA, point guards and wings are the two most important positions and Doncic is one of the few who can play both.
In today’s era of ball movement and space, teams need players who can break down defenses and facilitate open long-range shots for their teammates.
Doncic does both as well as anyone in the NBA, as he can finish down low in traffic where he shoots 69.3 percent on shots within five feet and his 44.8 assist percentage is second only to LeBron James in the NBA.
Doncic is the perfect point guard for the modern game as he can score and get his teammates open shots.
Luka is a Unicorn
At 6-foot-7 218 lbs. Doncic is one of the biggest guards in the league and there are few players with his combination of size and skill.
His size creates mismatches all over the floor and forces teams to use their best wing to guard him. Most players are either too slow or too small to defend him.
Put a point guard on Doncic and he posts up, put a small forward on him and he penetrates while your shooting guard is left defending a wing.
Ask the New Orleans Pelicans, who had no answer for Luka’s size in a recent overtime loss:
Doncic’s size gives him defensive versatility that few players have, as he can match up with both guards and forwards without giving anything away.
His rebounding allows the Mavs to not rely on traditional bigs to get boards.
This makes Doncic very easy to build around, as he can play just about anywhere on the floor, so the Dallas Mavericks will never have to draft for need, as just about anyone can fit with Luka.
Luka’s Intangibles
Aside from the eye-popping numbers, Doncic has intangibles that set him apart from other young players.
He’s one of those guys who makes everyone on the team better. He not only leads the team in scoring but keeps everyone involved and is a vocal on-the-floor leader.
Luka is also not afraid of the moment and wants to be the guy who takes a big shot. Though he only shoots 31.8 percent from 3-point range, he always seems to knock one down at a crucial moment in the game and usually with a high degree of difficulty.
As Luka’s long-range shot continues to improve, he is going to make even more of those shots, but he already has the competitive edge and killer instinct.
He’ll be a popular and successful player for years to come and the Mavs will be in contention as long as he is healthy. You can’t ask for much more from a 20-year-old player.
The Case for Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson captured the imagination of NBA fans when he was still ripping down rims at Duke.
Few players have entered the league with as much hype, but it had to be put on hold because of an early season injury.
Since Zion made his debut for the New Orleans Pelicans he’s been the talk of the league, captivating fans and his peers with his rare combination of power and leaping ability.
Zion Williamson averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in his 19 games with the New Orleans Pelicans and generated a lot of excitement around the league in the process.
Here’s the case for Zion as the best franchise player.
He’s Barely Scratched the Surface
The fact that Zion Williamson is even in this discussion is testament to how good he is. He’s only 19-years-old and has played just 19 games, but what a start.
Zion seemed to break a record every night, including most consecutive 20-point games by a teenager and was putting himself in the same breath as the all-time greats.
If Zion Williamson had a full season, he almost undoubtedly would have won Rookie of the Year, but he still had the New Orleans Pelicans in the playoff hunt and might have gotten there anyway had the season not been suspended.
He’s so good already and can still be so much better, which has to scare the other 29 teams in the league.
Zion Williamson is a Unicorn
It’s hard to think of a 285 lb. man as a unicorn, but it’s also hard to imagine one who can do the things Zion does at that size.
We’ve seen players with power and we’ve seen players with hops, but there has rarely been a guy who has so much of both.
Zion’s size and power create mismatches all over the floor, as he can get around slower centers effortlessly and bully most everyone else.
Sometimes his strength is almost unfair. Ask Kevin Knox:
But Zion Williamson isn’t all strength. He’s also flashed a nice touch around the rim and shoots a crazy 58.9 percent overall. His footwork and spin moves are already devastating and will be even better as he gets more reps.
He’s virtually unstoppable in the lane and has shown enough of a shot to think he might develop one of those eventually as well.
Like Luka, Zion Williamson is hard to defend, creates mismatches and changes the other team’s game plan.
Zion’s Intangibles
Every now and then players come along who capture the imagination. The way Michael Jordan soared through the air was different. There was something magical and we couldn’t look away.
Zion Williamson has that quality.
He’s a 285 lb. man with a 45-inch vertical leap and soft hands, which has already made him one of the best players to watch catch an alley oop:
Aside from the fact that Zion is really fun to watch, he’s a soft-spoken, nice kid with a big smile who seems to be a genuinely nice guy.
He’s clearly the next face of the NBA and his jersey will be a top seller for the next decade, not just in New Orleans but all over the world.
The Verdict
It is these intangibles that give Zion Williamson a slight edge over Luka as a franchise player.
Doncic may be better now and is certainly a guy any team would love to have, but he doesn’t have the indefinable quality that inspires kids to imitate him in the driveway.
Luka is a great player and could be one of the all-time best point guards, mentioned in the same breath as Magic Johnson, but to be honest, I won’t be telling my kids about him.
Zion Williamson is the stuff of legends and even if Luka is slightly better, Zion is the guy that I’d build my franchise around.
The New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks were lucky to land the league’s next two superstars and this debate will rage on, but one thing is for certain, it’s going to be fun to watch them battle.
Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!