Luka Doncic pumps brakes on Larry Bird comparisons
Despite a superb start to his NBA career, Luka Doncic is not about to christen himself as “The Great Slovenian Hope” just yet.
Speaking this week with the New York Times, retired Boston Celtics great Cedric Maxwell called the Dallas Mavericks star “Larry Bird reincarnated.”
After the Mavs defeated the Brooklyn Nets over the weekend, Doncic reacted to the comparison, which others in the past have made as well.
“More games to go,” he said, per Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. “A long time before you can compare me to Larry Bird. I just want to keep hooping, have fun playing basketball.”
Doncic does share some similarities with Bird, namely in his wizardry with the basketball and his ability to score at all three levels. But the 22-year-old does indeed have a long way to go before he even comes close to the elite all-around play of the Hall of Famer Bird, a multi-time NBA champion, All-Defensive selection, and 50-40-90 club member.
What we do know is that Doncic is certainly on the right path as a 28-8-9 player in just his third NBA season. But neither Doncic nor his highers-up care much for these kinds of unnecessary comparisons.
