Doncic was named to the All-Star Game, then injured his ankle against the Suns

PHOENIX. Luka Doncic was named to the NBA All-Star Team on Thursday for the fourth year in a row.

The Dallas Mavericks point guard joins Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Isaiah Thomas and Anthony Davis as the only players to earn four Under-24 All-Star spots.

Doncic was named a Western Conference starter for the third time in four seasons.

“It’s well deserved,” said coach Jason Kidd. “He is one of the best players in the world. You look at what he did in the first half of the season, the numbers are off the charts.

“He puts his team in position to win every night. Again, I’ve said this before, we can’t take it for granted. I know he’s only 23 but the things he does every night are impressive and fun to watch and he’s only going to get better.”

Doncic, 23, leads the NBA in scoring (33.8), 18th in rebounding (9.1), fourth in assists (8.6), 11th in steals (1.5), and also played 10 games in which he scored at least 40 points. . He joins Stephen Curry as a starter in the opponent West’s backcourt, while frontcourt starters include Nikola Jokic, Sion Williamson and James.

The backcourt starters for the East are Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell, while the frontcourt starters are Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokoumto and Ison Tatum.

Asked if Doncic is one of those players of a generation who will probably have many, many years of All-Star appearances, Kidd said: “I think it’s just his skill set. His talent is very high. This matches his IQ. His will to win, his performances, when you look at the numbers he puts up, at some point you don’t want to waste them. You want to start putting yourself in the position to be that last team standing.

“But I think his goal is to always be an All-Star in this league. It is not simple. There are so many talented players in this league, but when you see rookie votes, he got a couple of votes there, so it’s nice to see that his talent is recognized all over the world, but he well deserves to be started with the other four.

Unfortunately, Doncic was unable to showcase his All-Star talent on Thursday when the Mavs played the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center. Doncic sprained his left ankle less than four minutes into the game – the X-ray was negative – and did not return.

Twitter: @DwainPrice