I hate it when sports media say things like that. This definitely isn't just an NBA thing, as almost all sports media have elements of stupid hyperbole. I get that it's their jobs to get clicks and be over the top, but it's silly.
I love Doncic as a player, but it's not like there have never been players with skill sets like his. There have been prospects with playmaking superior to his, ball handling superior to his, and scoring superior to his.
Disagree. There has never been a player who's accomplished as much as Doncic has in Europe at his age (at least in the era when Euroleague has been at a high level). Accordingly, there simply has never been a draft prospect like him, from an on-court accomplishment perspective.
Agreed. I cannot think of any other player with a similar career in the Euroleague
ever. He has achieved more than Kukoc, Sabonis, or Petrovic at the same age.
Having said this, I think top European teams are better now at developing young talents than they were in the 80s or 90s. Also, back when socialist countries were around, avoiding military service was not easy (Petrovic iirc actually lost a year bcs of this, while Sabonis managed to dodge it).