You’re likely reading this headline and thinking, “Are we really at that point in the offseason?” and the answer is yes, yes we are.
But the Avengers are about to reconvene later this year and perhaps they’re looking for some last-minute reinforcements. If so, Tyrese Maxey has someone they should recruit.
In a recent video for Complex, Maxey was asked which player could take Thanos 1-on-1 and immediately answered Luka.
“Probably Luka. Luka just ain’t scared of nothing, you know what I mean? I can see
Luka on an island, 1v1ing Thanos…I think Luka can step back pretty much anybody. I don’t think Thanos would scare him at all.”
Thanos would certainly make things difficult for Luka. He stands around 8’3”, which is basically as tall as Wemby is at this point.
But do we even know how Thanos would hang on a basketball court? What’s his shuttle time? How well can he slide his feet defensively? Because Luka has a history of cooking slow-footed big men with stepback threes.
Yeah, so what if Thanos might have a bunch of pretty stones in his glove that give him powers to do all sorts of things like rewind time and change realities? Have you seen how skinny Luka is now? None of those powers matter.
We saw how Luka reacted to hitting a game-winning shot in the Western Conference Finals. Imagine how much adrenaline he’d have after stepping back over Thanos with the fate of Earth on the line. He’d be able to pick up Mjölnir whether he was worthy or not. And to be clear, he’s definitely worthy.
There are multiple blueprints now of basketball players saving the world from villains. A little tape study paired with Luka’s confidence and fearlessness should be more than enough for him to take Thanos down.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
