Luka Doncic’s step-back 3s vs. Celtics are a terrifying glimpse of the future

Luka Doncic’s step-back 3 game against the Boston Celtics provided a scary glimpse of the future.

Through the first two seasons of his NBA career, one of the biggest knocks on Luka Doncic — on the offensive side of the ball, anyway — was his lack of efficiency from 3-point range. As a masterful creator with the ball in his hands, Doncic immediately proved himself capable of carving out space for his own shot and for his teammates’ shots, but when it came to actually making his own step-back 3s, the results just weren’t there.

But that’s the scary thing about a kid being that good in his early 20s: He was only going to get better, and with more practice, those clean step-back 3s were eventually going to start finding the bottom of the net.

While the Dallas Mavericks star has been hitting his 3s at a much healthier 36.8 percent clip this season, Wednesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics provided a glimpse of just how terrifying Doncic can be when he’s feeling himself on those step-backs.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1377421639235817472?s=20

Luka Doncic provides a scary look into the future

Remember, this guy is only 22 years old, and he’s already playing at an MVP-caliber number. Once the Mavs start winning more games — and he continues drilling these impossible-to-stop step-backs — it won’t be long before he’s a perennial MVP candidate.

On Wednesday, Doncic torched the Celtics with 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the first half alone, including a number of tough, contested step-backs. There’s just no defense for it, and when Dallas needed a bucket from him late in the game, Doncic delivered an absolute gem:

Luka Doncic finished his night with 36 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, shooting 11-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-11 from 3-point range. Since the start of February, he’s canning 43.4 percent of his whopping 8.9 long-range attempts per game.

If this is the new standard … good luck to the rest of the NBA in trying to stop him.