Dwyane Wade had very high praise for Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic following Miami's 112-101 victory over the Mavs on Wednesday night.
Specifically, Wade was impressed with Doncic's ability to find the open shooter under pressure, which he described as "LeBron James-like."
"Quote me right where I say this—it's LeBron James-like from the standpoint of how he's able to rope that pass to shooters in corners, getting blitzed," Wade said of Doncic's passing ability (H/T Tim Cato of The Athletic). "There's not many guys who can do that and put it right there. He does an amazing job of it."
https://twitter.com/_/status/1095913412809449475
Doncic flirted with a triple-double against the Heat last night, posting 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds and nine assists.
For the season, the 19-year old phenom is averaging 20.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists, and he has established himself as the clear frontrunner for the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year award.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1095861755354497024
Last night's matchup between the Heat and Mavs also marked the final regular season battle between Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. The two legends exchanged jerseys after the game and reflected on their heated battles over the years.
"One of my best jersey swaps of the year. To be able to have that, he’s a Hall of Famer, somebody that obviously I’ve grown to have so much respect for. So I’m just thankful that he didn’t turn me down and say no, so I appreciate it."
"It's a long time coming knowing that he's been doing that," said Nowitzki, who scored 12 points in 17 minutes on Wednesday. "I'll cherish his jersey, obviously, knowing the great competition we've had for a long, long time. He's a great, great player, one of the greatest guards we've had in our league.
"Like I said, there was some rough, rocky times in our relationship after '06. It went both ways. There was some stuff said we both didn't like, but at the end of the day, we're both competitors. You don't love most of your competition. But we're in this together. We're all family, and I'm happy for him. He had a heck of a career."
