Is Luka Doncic The Best Dallas Mavericks Player In History?
Jason Kidd, the head coach, believes this. On Tuesday, Kidd stated on 97.1 The Freak’s “The Downbeat” that Doncic is “better than Dirk” Nowitzki.
“To appreciate what this young man is doing at the age of 24, (it) is something that Dallas has never seen,” said Kidd, who played eight seasons for the Mavericks (1995-1997; 2008-2012) and was teammates with Nowitzki during the team’s 2011 NBA championship run. “I’ve said it internally: He outperforms Dirk.” He does things Dirk could never do, and now he has the opportunity to surround himself with the proper people and ultimately win a championship.”
Here’s a clip from The Downbeat this morning as Jason Kidd joined @badkaratemovie @MikeSirois and @ktfuntweets
Listen to The Downbeat every morning 6-10am. And catch all of their segments below or anywhere you get your podcasts https://t.co/5WFbr4o0pr pic.twitter.com/foKoqtMtbg
— 97.1 The Freak (@971TheFreak) January 30, 2024
Kidd was named as head coach of the Mavericks in June 2021. Kidd, Doncic’s coach for two and a half seasons, stated that the Slovenian superstar is “in the atmosphere of MJ, the best to ever do it, LeBron (James), Kobe (Bryant).”
“This young man is 24 and is breaking all the records that stand in front of him,” Kidd stated at the time. “He’s a winner, and he wants to win a championship. And he will get there.
Doncic is coming off an extraordinary three-game stretch in which he scored 73 points in the Mavericks’ 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, his fourth-highest total in an NBA game. He followed up with 28 points in a defeat to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and 45 points in a victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Doncic is averaging 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 9.6 assists this season, trailing only Philadelphia 76ers reigning MVP Joel Embiid in scoring, but he lacks Nowitzki’s career awards.
Nowitzki was voted the Finals MVP after the Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat four games to two in the 2011 NBA Finals, in addition to the league MVP award in 2007. The 14-time All-Star (2002-2012, 2014, 2015, 2019) was awarded All-NBA first team four times (2005-2007, 2009) and will be named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. His No. 41 jersey was retired by the Mavericks in 2022, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023. He concluded his career with 31,560 points, which ranked sixth all-time in the NBA, 11,489 rebounds, 3,651 assists, 1,210 steals, and 1,281 blocks.
Doncic has been a five-time NBA All-Star (2020-24) and a four-time All-NBA first-team selection. Doncic was awarded rookie of the year in 2019 and made the NBA All-Rookie First Team, but he has yet to lead the Mavericks out of the Western Conference and to the NBA Finals. They got as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2022, where they were defeated by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. The Dallas Mavericks did not make the playoffs last season.
Kidd believes Doncic will undoubtedly win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy throughout his career. He went on to say that he will “not just win one, but multiple times when all is said and done.”
