Luka Doncic Ranked Above Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Trae Young in NBA Survey

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was the overwhelming pick from a panel of 20 NBA coaches, scouts and executives who were tasked with ranking their preferences between four of the NBA's brightest talents.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the group had Doncic, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young from which to pick. Doncic collected 17 first-place votes, while Williamson had one first-place vote and 11 second-place nods.

The extent to which Doncic dominated the vote is surprising, but he's the safest choice from the quartet.

The 21-year-old's reputation preceded him before he arrived in the NBA. He helped guide Real Madrid to a 2018 EuroLeague title and was the EuroLeague MVP.

Doncic still exceeded expectations as a rookie, averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. His game has gone a step further in 2019-20 as he's putting up 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 rebounds through 54 games.

Williamson, meanwhile, has been exactly as advertised after finally making his Pelicans debut. He's averaging 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 58.9 percent from the floor.

The questions about Williamson's long-term health will continue to hover for the next few years until he proves he can stay on the court. He's a 6'6", 284-pound forward who lives above the rim, and he already underwent surgery for a torn meniscus.

Because he has missed so much of the season, Williamson has likely ceded the Rookie of the Year race to Morant.

One executive in the Eastern Conference told Bontemps he believes the Grizzlies point guard has more room to grow in the future than Doncic:

"I don't know if Luka can be any better than he is. He's really good. But I think this might be who he is -- which is very good.

"But Ja can get better in terms of his shooting, his team will get better around him and he makes players better around him. I think he can affect the game at both ends."

Young is the odd man out to some extent since he's the only one without a second-place vote and the vast majority of fourth-place tallies (16).

The Hawks point guard is averaging 29.6 points and 9.3 assists, and his three-point shooting has improved from 32.4 percent to 36.1 percent.

Young's poor defense continues to cancel out his offensive contributions, though. He's dead last in ESPN.com's defensive real plus-minus (minus-3.12).

One East executive questioned whether Atlanta can build around Young as the alpha dog and might instead have to make him the 1B to a different 1A, similar to the dynamic the Oklahoma City Thunder had with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.