Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant Name Luka Doncic Among Future Faces of NBA

Mavs superstar Luka Doncic is a common choice to be one of the faces of the NBA after players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant retire.

After earning four consecutive All-NBA First-Team nods with potentially a fifth coming soon, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has become one of the NBA's top players. He's further elevated his game this season, averaging 34.2 points, 9.5 assists, and 8.8 rebounds through the All-Star break.

Many consider the current faces of the NBA to be LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant, with other elite players in their primes being recent MVP winners, like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid, but who will gain that status once those players are no longer playing?

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While James did not participate in the All-Star Media Day press conference, Curry and Durant shared their perspective. Those superstars listed off a few names, with Doncic among their choices. Curry mentioned names including Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and Shai Gligeous-Alexander, describing them as players who are already accomplished All-Stars entering their respective primes. 

“You see Luka, Ant [Anthony Edwards], Shai, guys that are really coming into their prime,” Curry said. “They’re highly decorated already as All-Stars but have a perspective of what that means within the on-court/off-court opportunities with the doors that basketball opens in that respect.

“You’ve got a lot of talent to choose from in that respect. I think the more you understand the authenticity around it and like me and Bron and KD and have done it and tried to do that in our way, where it might look different for different guys."

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Durant had a lengtheir list of candidates than Curry, including Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Edwards, but also naming Devin Booker, Tyrese Maxey, and Tyrese Haliburton. 

"You see Shai and Book, Luka, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton, and so many guys that are aspiring the next generation to become basketball players that you can't just pinpoint it to one or two guys. It's about pushing the game forward, setting a different standard of how we play, and these guys are doing it right now."

Perhaps one of the more fascinating elements of this type of conversation is the popularity Doncic already has in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and around the world. His global popularity already makes him a player who can be considered one of the faces of basketball, not just the NBA.