“When you look at his abilities to control the game offensively he's only 23 years old…The sky is the limit”- Former NBA champion praises Luka’s competitive mentality, says he can break all scoring records
Luka Doncic is undoubtedly one of the most promising young players in the NBA currently. He his NBA debut during the 2018-19 NBA season following a lengthy professional career as a teenager in Europe.
'Luka Magic' took the league by storm. He posted four straight seasons with spectacular numbers that took the Mavericks to the playoffs. He earned himself three NBA All-Star appearances for his efforts, and Doncic has continued to elevate his gameplay every season.
Luka Doncic's growth is something that Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is excited to watch in the upcoming season. Kidd won an NBA championship as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. He will hope some of his experience as a player combined with his coaching pedigree will help the young star continue to flourish.
Jason Kidd spoke during a recent interview with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, explaining the situation with Luka Doncic going into the upcoming NBA season. He said:
"When you look at the ceiling the sky is the limit. He can fly forty thousand, fifty thousand, I mean however high you wanna go until he gets tired.
"And so when you look at his abilities to control the game offensively he's only 23 years old and loves to play the game. So I'm just lucky to have the opportunity to have a good seat and watch him play and then also just try to help him what I see to make the game with no stress, and that's something that we talk about.
"If he were sitting right next to me, he would talk about, 'Coach always talks about no stress.'"
That no-stress mentality will serve Doncic well as he and the Mavericks look to capitalize on last season's success. The Mavericks will to reach the NBA finals this season for the first time since the franchise won an NBA Championship with Dirk Nowitzki in 2011.
Throughout the course of Luka Doncic's short time in the league, he has proven his ability to impact the game in more than one way. As a 3-level scorer with elite playmaking, Doncic will go into the season on the back of a strong showing for Team Slovenia in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament.
With Christian Wood's recent acquisition this offseason, only time will tell if Doncic is able to help take the team to new heights this year.