When the Los Angeles Lakers landed Luka Doncic in a stunning trade with the Dallas Mavericks in February 2025, it was like they had won the Powerball jackpot. Doncic was just 25 years of age at the time, and it reset their entire timeline at a point when it looked like their opportunities to win another NBA championship with LeBron James and Anthony Davis had run out. Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists a game last season, and he may be just beginning the prime of his career. He is a nightmare for opposing defenses in the NBA, and in the mind of Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey, he would also be a nightmare for one of the biggest villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maxey was asked in a video for Complex which NBA player could defeat Thanos in a game of one-on-one, and he said it would be Doncic.
“Probably Luka. Luka just ain’t scared of nothing, you know what I mean? I can see Luka on an island, one-on-oneing Thanos…I think Luka can step back pretty much anybody. I don’t think Thanos would scare him at all.”
Indeed, Doncic's step-back 3-pointer likely gives many an NBA player bad dreams at night and is very difficult to defend. His superpower on the basketball court seems to be his ability to accelerate, then come to an abrupt stop and go backwards in the reverse direction. It is the type of motion that seems to put his defenders in cement, so to speak, and allows him to gain enough separation to get off a jump shot. He shot 47.6% overall from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range last season. It is truly scary to think that he can improve his shooting efficiency and that he can also get easier shots for himself if he starts playing off the ball a little more often. With Collin Sexton, a fast and capable ball-handler, facilitator and scorer now on the Lakers' roster, they may have the ability to run actions that get Doncic easier matchups when he doesn't have the ball in order to make things a little easier on him. That's the kind of thing that could make Thanos shake in his golden boots. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Tyrese Maxey: Luka Doncic could beat Thanos in a game of one-on-one