Jason Kidd Says Luka Dončić is Better Than Mavericks Legend Dirk Nowitzki
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić etched his name into the history books this past Friday, as he scored 73 points, tied-for the fourth-highest scoring output in NBA history. The incredible effort put Dončić's name up with some of the best players to have ever taken the court.
But Dončić’s coach Jason Kidd, an NBA great himself, doesn’t just believe that the Mavericks guard is among the best players to have played the game. Kidd believes Dončić is already better than one such former player, Dirk Nowitzki, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and Mavericks legend.
The Mavericks coach shared his strong opinion on Dončić during a Tuesday appearance on The Downbeat on 97.1 The Freak.
Here’s a clip from The Downbeat this morning as Jason Kidd joined @badkaratemovie @MikeSirois and @ktfuntweets
— 97.1 The Freak (@971TheFreak) January 30, 2024
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
“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it, you know, for as long as I’m here. You can’t take this young man for granted. He’s better than Dirk. He’s in the atmosphere of MJ, the best to ever do it. LeBron, Kobe,” Kidd said.
This is certainly lofty praise, given that the players Kidd mentioned have a combined 16 NBA Finals rings—and Dončić has yet to even advance to one. When pressed as to how he could say Dončić is better than Nowitzki, Kidd replied by citing Michael Jordan’s Bulls’ struggles early in his career, as well as the Mavericks star’s propensity for breaking records at the young age of 24.
Back in December, Dončić became the sixth-youngest player to reach 10,000 career points. Last week, he scored the aforementioned 73 points. And on Monday night, he joined James as the only players in NBA history to record 10,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists before turning 25.
That's 3k career assists for @luka7doncic ????
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) January 30, 2024
He joins LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to record 10k points, 3k rebounds and 3k assists before turning 25 ???? pic.twitter.com/f2wuiiFT43
It's no wonder why Kidd thinks so highly of Dončić.