"Hey is coach making you run... Luka's not doing those things" - Jason Kidd shares his relation as coach with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic
Jason Kidd has had the opportunity to coach some great talent in his short coaching career. He recently discussed coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic.
After coaching Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with the Brooklyn Nets, Kidd went on to coach Giannis for the Milwaukee Bucks. After a year away from the sidelines, Kidd took on an assistant coaching role with the LA Lakers. There, he coached LeBron James and Anthony Davis before landing a head coaching role to lead Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
During a recent appearance on ALL THE SMOKE, Kidd discussed what it has been like coaching the two talented European stars. He was first asked about how it was coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo, to which he responded by stating (starting at the 55:30 mark):
"Unbelievable. When you talk about a young man who would do anything you ask him to do, and he wanted to be great, and I'm excited to see where he is today.
"But he, again, is just starting to climb the mountain. He hasn't reached his full potential either, but his work ethic is like no other. He works extremely hard during the season and offseason.
"And so to be able to be around a Giannis when - he's still young, but younger - again, his growth giving him the ball. When I was there to help expand his game with something that we all thought would help us as a team, but help him and he ran with it."
Kidd continued to discuss the two players, while sharing a story from the All-Star break, adding:
"You know what's funny about the two players you've talked about, Luka and Giannis. From my young coaching career I've had the opportunity to coach KG, Paul Pierce, Giannis, and now Luka, and at the All-Star game in Cleveland for the 75th I got to have all of them kind of standing by me.
"Giannis brings up the story to Luka, like 'Hey, is coach making you run?' and I go, 'Giannis don't bring - don't start talking about the things I made you do!' Then Ticket - oh my goodness - Ticket goes 'Oh, man. Coach used to make us run so much training camp we're at Duke, he's making us do sprints.'
"I'm like 'Okay, time to go, let's end this man because Luka doesn't need to hear all the things that I made you guys do. Luka's not doing those things.'"
Jason Kidd's comments are interesting for basketball fans, as they show that a good head coach knows that he must manage every star differently.
Watch Jason Kidd's full comments on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic below:
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo or Luka Doncic have the better career?
Giannis Antetokounmpo has established himself as a top five player in the NBA. Luka Doncic is knocking on that door and is likely a top 10 player. Both players have had tremendous individual success in their short careers.
International players in 2022:
Jokic —
27/14/8
58/34/81%
Giannis —
30/12/6
55/29/72%
Embiid —
31/12/4
50/37/81%
Luka —
28/9/9
46/35/74%
All were top 5 in the MVP race. https://t.co/4FtvV5ItKu
While Luka Doncic has the benefit of time on his side as he is nearly five years younger, Giannis Antetokounmpo is already building quite the resume. At just 27 years old, Giannis has an NBA championship, two MVPs, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved awards. Despite his short run in the league, he was named to the 75th anniversary team.
Many expect greatness out of Luka Doncic, but Giannis Antetokounmpo has already shown that level of greatness, both on an individual and team level. One fan made an interesting observation regarding the two European stars.
Bruh I just realized Giannis and Luka become free agents in the same summer