"Closer to Kevin Durant than he is Dirk"- Former Super Bowl winner opines Luka Doncic can't lead a championship team
The NBA Finals is a great stage for stars to showcase their talent under the biggest spotlight, which for Mavericks guard Luka Doncic ended up being too high of a mountain to climb. Former Super Bowl champion Chris Canty had some strong criticisms of him after the loss against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Canty made his comments on ESPN's "Unsportsmanlike Radio," where he argued that Luka Doncic is far from who Dirk Nowitzki was but is closer to who Kevin Durant is.
"I think Luka Doncic is closer to Kevin Durant than he is Dirk Nowitzki," Canty said. "We never questioned Dirk Nowitzki's work ethic. We never questioned his commitment to trying to improve his body and his game in order to contend in the championship rounds. ... We're questioning all of those things with Luka. ... These are things that been coming up. ..."
Throughout the finals, the media questioned the Mavericks star's dedication and focus at the defensive end after being targeted on offense by the Celtics. There were numerous possessions in Games 1 and 2 when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would easily get past Doncic with little resistance at the half-court to create a play.
Luka Doncic didn't use an injury excuse for NBA Finals loss
After the disappointing 106-88 loss to the Boston Celtics, Doncic was asked in his postgame interview about the level of severity of his injury in the NBA Finals. However, Doncic didn't use it as a reason to defend his performance and instead blamed himself for coming up short.
"It doesn't matter if I was hurt [or] how much I was hurt," Doncic said. "I was out there, trying to play. But I didn't do enough."
This was Luka Doncic's first run in the NBA Finals. The numbers obviously tell a different story when it comes to how he performed individually. However, to be a champion in the league will require more from a team's superstar, which goes beyond eye-popping box score stats.
Doncic remains one of the best young stars in the league. He still has his whole career ahead of him but this summer calls upon some much-needed work on his defensive capabilities on the court.
It remains to be seen how he'll respond but Luka Doncic has given the impression that he is more than capable of stepping up to any given challenge.