During a recent appearance on 97.1 The Freak, Jason Kidd said the Dallas Mavericks current superstar is better than the team's former superstar. Kidd's eye-opening Luka Doncic-Dirk Nowitzki comparison has led to no shortage of reactions from around the NBA world. Kidd also said that Luka is in the “atmosphere” of Michael Jordan, but that's a conversation for another time.
Let's take a look at Kidd's exact comments and see if his bold take, which has drawn some backlash, is correct.
Stats via Basketball Reference.
Jason Kidd's Luka Doncic-Dirk Nowitzki comparison
“You can’t take this young man for granted,” Kidd said of Doncic. “He’s better than Dirk. He’s in the atmosphere of MJ, the best to ever do it — LeBron, Kobe. So just to appreciate what this young man is doing at the age of 24 is something that Dallas has never seen. And I've said this internally, he is better than Dirk. He does things that Dirk could never do. And now, it's the opportunity of getting the right people around him to ultimately win a championship.”
Kidd even doubled down on his comments when asked if he felt “comfortable” saying that Doncic is better than Nowitzki despite Dirk having won a championship with the Mavericks and Luka not reaching the NBA Finals yet.
“Yeah. MJ is the same way,” Kidd said. “MJ didn't make it until his 30's. This young man is 24 and is breaking all the records that stand in front of him. And he's a winner, and his ultimate goal is to win a championship. He will get there and not just win one, but he will win multiple when it's all said and done.”
Is Luka Doncic better than Dirk Nowitzki?
I'm a firm believer that there is a difference between being a “better” player as compared to a “greater” player. It's one thing to also keep in mind when comparing LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Jordan's dominance in the postseason stood out. LeBron's talent is incredible, and he's arguably the more skilled basketball player. But it is difficult to refute Jordan's greatness in the MJ-LeBron debate.
So we could make a similar argument for Doncic and Nowitzki. Taking out the championship element and strictly looking at their skill levels, though, Doncic certainly has a case for being the better player.
Luka made his debut with the Mavericks at 19 years old and immediately averaged 21.2 points per game. He was fairly inefficient from the field and from beyond the arc, but Doncic recorded 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per outing during his rookie season.
Nowitzki was 20 during his rookie season. He averaged 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per outing. It's worth noting that in their rookie seasons, Doncic averaged 32.2 minutes while Dirk saw just 20.4 minutes per game.
Okay, so how about at 24 years old? After all, Doncic is establishing himself as a legitimate MVP candidate this season, and is enjoying one of the best performances of his career.
Nowitzki was 24 during the 2002-03 season. He averaged 25.1 points per game on 46.3 percent field goal and 37.9 percent three-point shooting. Dirk added 9.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.
Doncic, meanwhile, is averaging 34.7 points per outing on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent shooting from deep to go along with 9.6 assists and 8.6 rebounds per game.
Doncic is the better playmaker, and nobody will argue against that. Doncic's all-around offensive numbers stand out, but he also plays in a more explosive offensive era. I mean, Doncic scored 73 points in a recent game and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN didn't even seem to be all that impressed.
But winning does matter. After all, it's the primary argument Michael Jordan supporters use against LeBron James in the GOAT debate.
Dirk's greatness for Mavericks can't be ignored
Jason Kidd isn't necessarily wrong from purely a talent standpoint. However, from an all-around career perspective, it's too early to call Luka a greater player than Dirk. And that's probably why Kidd chose to use the word “better” instead.
Nowitzki led the Mavericks to an NBA Finals victory in 2011 despite not being expected to earn a championship that season. Dirk also won the 2007 NBA MVP award, and Luka has yet to accomplish that feat either.
So with no NBA Finals appearances or MVP awards, Doncic still has work to do in terms of surpassing Dirk's legacy. With that being said, Luka is still certainly on track to have a statue built next to Nowitzki's outside of the Mavs' arena. He has Hall of Fame potential, but Doncic is still only 24 years old.
This is a debate that Mavericks fans will continue to have moving forward. Do you think that Luka Doncic is better than Dirk Nowitzki?
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