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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
Luka Doncic will make his NBA Finals debut on Thursday night (8:30 ET, ABC), when the Dallas Mavericks face the Boston Celtics.
The Mavericks guard leads the postseason in points (489), rebounds (164) and assists (150). That makes him the first player to lead in all three categories heading into a Finals in NBA history.
At 25 years old, Doncic’s individual accolades are impressive. He has five All-Star appearances and five All-NBA first-team nods. But a major blemish was his lack of success in the postseason. He had reached the Western Conference finals only once prior to this season.
Doncic joins a select group of players with at least five All-Star and five All-NBA first-team honors before making their NBA Finals debut.
Here’s a look at how those stars fared in their first championship round.
Karl Malone, Utah Jazz, 1997
Finals stats: 23.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals
Series result: 4-2 loss to the Chicago Bulls
Malone already was a 10-time All-Star with nine All-NBA first-team appearances before his first NBA Finals. The 1996-97 season also resulted in Malone’s first Most Valuable Player award.
But unfortunately for Malone, he ran into a Bulls team, led by Michael Jordan, looking for its second consecutive title. Utah lost Games 1 and 2, but evened the series behind strong performances from Malone. He had 37 points and 10 rebounds in Game 3, followed by 23 and 10 in Game 4.
Chicago would close the series out in six; Malone had 21 points on 46.7% shooting in the deciding loss.
Finals stats: 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals
Series result: 4-2 loss to the Chicago Bulls
Similar to Malone, Barkley won his first MVP the same year he reached his first Finals, then lost to the Bulls in six games.
The Suns star was a seven-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA first-team member entering the series. Prior to 1993, Barkley had reached the conference finals only once in six career playoff appearances.
Phoenix fell behind 3-1 against Chicago, even though Barkley had 42 points in Game 2 and a 32-point triple-double in Game 4. Barkley had 21 points on 38.9% shooting and 17 rebounds in the Suns’ Game 6 loss as the Bulls completed their three-peat.
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, 1991
Finals stats: 31.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 2.8 steals
Series result: 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers
Jordan’s bumpy road to his first NBA Finals has been well documented.
He didn’t advance past the semifinals until 1989, then had back-to-back Eastern Conference finals losses in 1989 and 1990. With two MVPs, five All-NBA first-team nods and seven All-Star appearances, the Bulls star finally got over the hump in 1991.
The stage wasn’t too big for Jordan against the Lakers. Even though Chicago lost the series opener, he dominated with 36 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Jordan had three more double-doubles in the series as the Bulls handled the Lakers in five games.
Finals stats: 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 9.5 assists
Series result: 4-0 win over the Baltimore Bullets
The Big O had a memorable start to his career. He made nine straight appearances on the All-NBA first team, paired with an MVP and Rookie of the Year award. Robertson dominated with the Cincinnati Royals but never reached the Finals until the Milwaukee Bucks acquired him in 1970.
Paired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, Robertson helped the Bucks win their first NBA championship. Then an 11-time All-Star, he had 30 points and nine assists in the series-clinching win.
Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics, 1957
Finals stats: 20.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 9.1 assists
Series result: 4-3 win over the St. Louis Hawks
1957 was a memorable year for Cousy. He won his first MVP, made his seventh All-Star appearance and earned his sixth All-NBA first-team nod. But most importantly, Cousy reached the Finals for the first time.
The Celtics star averaged 46 minutes per game in the Finals and recorded a double-double twice. In Game 7, Cousy played a whopping 58 minutes in a double-overtime win, helping the Celtics capture their first championship.