Luka Doncic has done some incredible things during his five-plus NBA seasons, and no one has been more impressed with the Dallas Mavericks star than his head coach.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd spoke about Doncic during a Tuesday appearance on 97.1 The Freak’s “The Downbeat.” Many were surprised to hear Kidd declare that he believes Doncic is better than Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki, whom Kidd was teammates with on Dallas’ 2011 NBA title team. Kidd did not stop there, however.
Not only does Kidd think Doncic is the best player in Mavericks history, he believes the 24-year-old is already in the same conversation as Michael Jordan and other NBA legends.
“He’s better than Dirk. He’s in the atmosphere of MJ, the best to ever do it, LeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant],” Kidd said, as transcribed by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “And so, just to appreciate what this young man’s doing at the age of 24, [it] is something that Dallas has never seen. I’ve said this internally: He is better than Dirk. He does things that Dirk could never do, and now is the opportunity of getting the right people around him to ultimately win a championship.”
Doncic may be more talented than Nowitzki. That was evident when the five-time All-Star dropped 73 points in the Mavericks’ 148-143 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. The scoring output is tied for the fourth-highest in NBA history. Of course, most careers are measured with a combination of statistics and performance in the postseason.
As long as he stays healthy, Doncic is going to have the stats. What he has not done yet is lead his team to the NBA Finals. Dallas has made the playoffs three times since Doncic joined the team in 2018. They lost in the first round twice and reached the Western Conference Finals two years ago, where they lost in five games to the Golden State Warriors.
Doncic has plenty of time to build out his postseason resume, but most people are nowhere near ready to start comparing him to Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. He needs at least one ring before that conversation can start, though Kidd has obviously seen enough.
