Luka Dončić Called ‘Worst Transition Defender in History of Basketball’ by NBA Scout

Nobody is going to mistake Luka Dončić for Gary Payton or prime Kawhi Leonard on the defensive end of the ball, but at least one scout thinks he’s historically bad.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon appeared on the Lowe Post podcast Tuesday and said a scout called Dončić “the worst transition defender in the history of basketball” (7:40 mark).

Ouch.

“That seems a little much, scout guy,” Zach Lowe responded, smiling.

MacMahon did note that the scout didn’t make an analytical case for his assertion, saying simply, “just watch him,” when pressed on his opinion.

Luckily for the Mavericks, Dončić’s poor defending is accompanied by 32.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. It’s a trade-off they’ll take, though the Dallas star might want to tighten things up just a bit on the defensive end down the stretch as his team battles for a berth in the play-in tournament.