Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd believes Luka Doncic is like a young Michael Jordan who is now on the path to winning a championship sooner than later.
Kidd said as much on Thursday after the Mavs' frustrating defeat to the Phoenix Suns after leading for most of the game. Doncic had a near triple-double of 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. However, that was not enough as Devin Booker and Chris Paul took over in the clutch to complete their comeback with a 35-19 fourth quarter.
According to Kidd, Doncic was once like a young Jordan who tried to take down the Detroit Pistons by himself until he got a running mate who made things simple for him. As he sees Luka now, he is making it easy and fun now that he has reliable teammates like Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson.
“You look at Michael Jordan when he was young, tried to beat Detroit Pistons by himself and couldn’t do it. Then he [got] a running mate and made it simple. When the great ones make it easy and simple, it becomes fun. You can see that with Luka,” Kidd said, per Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life.
The Mavs remain at the middle of the Western Conference with their 26-20 record. They have a solid lead against the 6th to 8th seeds, but they are also a little bit behind for the Top 4 seeds in the conference.
Sure enough, Luka Doncic's play with Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson will be crucial for the Mavs moving forward as they look to get past the first round of the postseason and win the Larry O'Brien trophy. As Jason Kidd hinted, though, the Slovenian's Michael Jordan-like play has him hoping for the best.