Is Mavs' Luka Dončić turning into Carmelo Anthony?

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Is Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić mirroring Carmelo Anthony before our eyes?

It’s a no-brainer, according to Colin Cowherd.

He broke down the list of similarities that have led him to believe the 24-year-old Dončić is “turning into a little Carmelo Anthony” on Monday’s “The Herd.”

“Carmelo Anthony, a year out of college, is coming into the league very young,” Cowherd said. “Luka: European ball, there is no university here, it comes to the league. They are immediately great scorers and have very good team success at the beginning. [They] they don’t get along with everyone, but they score in the NBA. This means you are adored. Their offensive games are very refined very early, very mature.

“But then after four years in the league, you realize Carmelo and Luka are never in great shape, they’re not going to play any defense and they’re kind of stuck in their ways. They both get really prickly when you suggest that. [that] they should up their games a bit. … And suddenly, they are hard to train… and can be cranky. Teams and general managers try to find the perfect mix for Carmelo and Luka and they can’t, and coaches get fired and the results are really poor.”

Anthony, a 10-time NBA All-Star, last played for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 13.3 points on 44.1% shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 69 games (three starts).

The 6-foot-7 Dončić is a four-time All-Star and has led the Mavs in scoring in every regular season (five) and postseason (three) since his arrival in 2018. He was second in the league in scoring this season , averaging 32.4 PPG.

The Mavs finished 38-44 and 11th in the Western Conference and missed the postseason despite Dallas’ excellent midseason trade for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. Dallas was in fourth place in the West just two months ago, but the Mavs went 7-18 to end the season, pushing them right out of the postseason picture.

Dončić played down trade rumors Sunday, saying, “I’m happy here,” after sitting out Dallas’ 138-117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

“I’m watching [things in Dallas] Develop,” Cowherd added. “It’s getting worse, not better, and everybody’s blaming everybody but Luka. I saw it with Carmelo. … Carmelo’s career started here (high), and then he did this (down) after a while because he wouldn’t evolve.

“Luka’s career is here, and doesn’t it look like we planned it?… They’re called mirrors.”

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