"Line em up, let them play 1's": Kenyon Martin makes outlandish Luka Doncic claim about his Mavericks teammate
The Dallas Mavericks superstar, Luka Doncic is unquestionably one of the most gifted offensive players in the league. Doncic is also a talented playmaker who can dictate an offense's flow while being the heliocentric centerpiece of everything Dallas does.
Yet, the 15-year NBA veteran Kenyon Martin isn't convinced Doncic is the best player on the Mavericks. Martin believes Kyrie Irving is more talented and would beat Doncic in a one-on-one game.
"He's the fourth-best player in the NBA compared to the bulls*** list from the other day. He's in the MVP conversation. And, in my opinion, he's not the best player on his basketball team," Martin said via the "Gil's Arena" podcast. "Guarantee you line em up, let them play 1's, line him up against Kyrie."
Martin continued:
"Listen, he might not touch the ball. If you give Kyrie the ball first, Luka won't touch the ball. Luka can't guard this damn camera stand. That's the thing with real basketball people. If your numbers don't equate to something, they're just numbers. I look at who you are and what you're doing. I look at Kyrie like s***."
Irving signed a three-year $120 million deal with the Mavericks earlier this summer, with the third year being a player option.
Jamal Crawford is excited about the duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic
While Kenyon Martin is focused on who is better out of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, former NBA player Jamal Crawford is excited to see the two sharing a backcourt together.
Crawford recently detailed his excitement to former NBA sharpshooter-turned-analyst Reggie Miller via a conference call. He made the bold claim that Doncic and Irving could be the most talented backcourt duo in NBA history.
“You can make an argument that these two are the most skilled backcourt players to ever play together," Crawford said. "I think this year they’ve got to hold each other accountable. There’s no way around it. ‘If we’re trying to win, you’ve got to call me out on my stuff. We have to bring these guys along with us. We have to make these guys better. And we have to defend this only way we’ve had the chance. We’ll score enough."
Doncic and Irving will be tasked with leading the Mavericks to a championship in the upcoming season. Dallas struggled to get the best from its two star guards throughout the final months of last season. As such, it will be interesting to see how Doncic and Irving gel in the coming months.