Revisiting The Step Back’s 2018 NBA 25-under-25 list

Miss: Luka Doncic outside the top 10

Before we get to just how woefully off we were by sticking Wonder Boy Luka Doncic all the way down at 14, is there a case to be made that he should be in the top four?

Giannis is in a tier of his own. Joel Embiid changes the game at both ends and at some point will come across the magic elixir to the bad juju Al Horford and the Celtics seem to send his way whenever Philly plays Boston. So no, Doncic doesn’t get into the top two.

Jokic and Towns’ cases are more tenuous. Each are transcendent on offense in their own way, but neither is perfect. These playoffs should clarify just how much Denver’s defense suffers without a real rim protector. KAT, meanwhile, will be watching the playoffs from home in part to his own issues being fully engaged 100 percent of the time.

Doncic, well…Doncic has been a revelation. Sure, there are warts. His effective field goal percentage has nearly dipped below 50 percent, thanks in part to a March swoon that’s seen him make only 25 percent of his 3-pointers. Dallas’ season has also cratered since the Porzingis trade, and the Mavs have a negative 14.1 net rating with Doncic on the court since the All-Star break.

Still, these are trivialities in what should still be a unanimous Rookie of the Year campaign. He’s the only rookie with at least a 28 usage rate, so a drop in efficiency should have been expected at some point. Doncic also stands to join Kyrie Irving as the lone first-year players in NBA history to sport an effective field goal percentage over 50, a usage rate over 28 and an assist percentage over 30.

All of this is to say that he probably should not have been placed below Jaylen Brown, Gary Harris and Clint Capela, among others. With Joel Embiid aging out before next year, he’ll be a lock for the top five, where he may be joined by someone he’ll be inextricably linked to for the rest of his career…