Mavs news: Luka Doncic's likeness to LeBron, Curry, per Stephen Silas

Stephen Silas said that Luka Doncic draws comparisons to LeBron James and Stephen Curry, which is a huge compliment for the young Mavericks star.

Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas has worked with several generational talents throughout his 21-year tenure as a deputy in the NBA. Ahead of the Rockets' hosting of Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, the 48-year-old tactician bared what makes Donicic as special as two of the best players in the league today, LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

“There’s two things, the basketball intelligence, the overall intelligence, the ability to listen and learn quickly, and the ability to take teaching and use it right away,” Silas said in a pre-game Zoom call (via Callie Caplan of Dallas News).

“You just have to tell them once and they’ve got it. All three guys were very much the same in that.”

Stephen Silas started his pregame Zoom tonight by calling Luka Doncic a "basketball savant" and ended it with this really candid answer about what LeBron, Steph and Luka have in common.

Silas coached all three as rookies. pic.twitter.com/O8oJdehnFn

— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) April 7, 2021

Before finally getting the opportunity to run his own team, Silas served as an assistant for seven other teams. He had the opportunity to coach James, Curry, and Doncic in their formative rookie years before taking the Rockets job. Silas also recently admitted that he probably won't be a head coach in the league right now if not for Luka. After all, he worked closely with the Slovenian stud for the Mavs, back when he was an assistant for Rick Carlisle and the Dallas squad.

Furthermore, Silas added that these three All-Stars had an impeccable work ethic and a desire to improve every year.

“They all have gotten so much better from year to year and I was blessed to be with those guys at the beginning, so I could see the growth that each guy has had. You don’t get that much better by just kind of not working or just expecting to get better all of the sudden,” Silas added.

While Silas's start as head coach hasn't been the best, he should turn out just fine.